


More Than Just a Dream

by PhantomSoRandom



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, College Student Jean Kirstein, Drinking Games, Family Fluff, Fluff, Humor, Implied Reincarnation, Italiano | Italian, M/M, a little smut, florist Marco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-10-23 17:39:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 34,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10724073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomSoRandom/pseuds/PhantomSoRandom
Summary: Jean Kirschtein has a crush. A big, huge, fat one. Armin Arlert. He's small, sweet, funny, and just perfect. But he's got a boyfriend who is also perfect. As Jean tries getting over his first love, he runs into the hottest florist he has ever met: Marco Bott. This is the story of how they go through many firsts together. This is the story of how Jean finds love all over again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NoGoodTuna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoGoodTuna/gifts).



Poetry. A topic despised by the majority of teenagers at my high school. I actually like poetry, especially when given the chance at school. It lets me be creative outside of my cramped room.

“An ode,” my English teacher, Mr. Gregor, said. “Ode.” He says once more, and then turns around to write it on the whiteboard. One word. Three letters. Ode.

“Does anyone  _ know _ what an ode  _ is _ ?” He asked the class, searching the room with his eyes.

Shit. Eye contact.

I looked away, pretending our eyes didn’t meet. Of course, it didn’t work.

 

“Jean!” He called my name, making me nearly jump out of my skin. I let out a deep sigh as he continued talking. “What is an ode?”

“Don’t know.” I shrugged. 

“Bah! Of course you don’t!” He joked. Mr. Gregor was one of those loud, fun teachers. Some find it annoying because he randomly shouts his words in his sentences. He’s also one of those teachers that likes to pick on a certain student a lot. 

Unfortunately, that’s me.

 

Me. Jean Kirschtein. Jean, pronounced “John”. I know, it’s an odd way to spell it. A little about me, I live with my adoptive father Wade Kirschtein. He works as a detective, and he found me as a baby in a FedEx box in front of the station, so he thought,  _ Why not? _ and took me in. He hates it when I tell that story lightly, but he doesn’t mind me not calling him dad. He doesn’t want me to for some odd reason.

 

And just like that, before I knew it, the bell rang. School was over. I picked up my black backpack and quickly walked out of there. My friends tried to hurry and follow. 

“How do your feet  _ not _ hurt?” Connie moaned.

“I’m used to it,” Ymir said, letting out a small sigh. “Aren’t you, by now? He does this all the time.”

“You guys don’t have to follow,” I said, glancing at them through the corner of my eye. “We can meet up later or something.” 

“I’ve got nothing else to do,” Connie catches up to me. “Plus, I don’t feel like being the third wheel with Ymir and her short ass girlfriend.”

 

Connie and Ymir. Where do I begin with these two? Connie Springer. The only straight one within our small group of friends. His eyes and grin are full of energy. I don’t mean the athletic energy. I mean he can talk for days kind of energy. 

 

Then there’s the gayest gay: Ymir Brown. A lot of people at this school don’t mind her being a lesbian. Hell, sometimes I think she loves it when we make gay jokes. It makes her  _ her _ . Ymir is tough skinned, and sharp tongued like me, but more sassy and makes lame jokes. 

 

There’s also her “short ass girlfriend” as Connie says, Christa Lenz. Yes, she is short. She’s a beautiful 4’9 girl with blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She’s a very sweet girl. The perfect sweet to go with Ymir’s sour. She thinks anything Ymir says is hilarious and will laugh at it for hours, but she’s got a laugh that you can’t get enough of. Ymir chose a good one.

 

“Her shortness is adorable,” Ymir shot a glare at Connie. “She’s also got very cute, short legs, mind you.” 

“Seems like someone else thinks so, too.” He pointed at said lesbian who was talking to another girl. Ymir’s brown eyes filled with anger, jealousy, and a small hint of determination. Connie and I watched as she stormed over to the two.

“The buses leave soon,” he reminded me.

“Right.”

 

I fixed the strap of my backpack on my shoulder and headed towards the buses. I should probably mention that I like this guy, Armin Arlert. Armin is pretty short for a guy, but that’s what makes him adorable. He has beautiful blonde hair and sky blue eyes that are easy to get lost into. He’s kind, smart, knows when to be serious,  _ and  _ he’s gay. He’s perfect. But so is his boyfriend, Eren Jaeger.

 

Eren is one of the most popular guys in school. He plays football, gets along with everybody, and is the brother of the hottest girl in school, Mikasa. Armin and Eren have been dating since freshman year, and I know Armin is happy with him. I’ve known Armin since we were in elementary school, so I know these things, and I know for a fact that Armin is happy with Eren Jaeger. I know it, and that’s what hurts so much.

 

“Armin!” I called my best friend’s name as he stood by the bus with Eren. They both turned to look at me. Eren, of course, glared. He didn’t like me all too much. 

“Oh, Jean,” Armin says with that sweet smile. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Uh, sure,” I respond. 

Armin looks at Eren who gets on the bus. 

 

“I guess I should make this quick,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know I should have told you earlier, but I just couldn’t find the time.”

“Is everything alright?” I asked.

“Yes. Well, sort of. I’m…leaving.”

 

I wasn’t able to process his words. No, more like I didn’t want to, and for once my brain and heart were on the same page. I entirely refused it. I kept a straight face as he continued.

“I’m moving to Washington,” Armin went on, avoiding eye contact. “Eren’s parents got divorced, and his aunt wants him to move in with him since neither of them want to take him in.” He swallowed hard, and finally found the courage to look dead at me. “I’m going with him. Today.”

 

I just stood there. That was all I could do. Stand there, and accept it. I did it for many years. I can do it again. I said nothing and looked down, keeping a straight face all the while.

“You’re gonna be fine, okay?” His tune went to a much happier one as he said this. 

“Alright,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t quiver. 

“Alright,” Armin repeated after me. “Goodbye, Jean.”

 

As he walked on the bus looking back at me from his shoulder, I waved at him, feeling numb. 

“Bye,” I said, then let my hand fall lifelessly. 

Two words. Ten letters. 

Alright. Bye.

That was one year ago.


	2. Chapter 2

 

I sat on my couch, running my thumb on the textblock of the James Patterson book I was reading. My new pitbull puppy was very amused by it. She tilted her head from side to side. I still haven’t named her.

“What should I name you?” I asked her as if she would respond. “Roxy?”

She only blinked.

“Nina? Dixie? Ava?”

Nothing.

“Come on, pup. Give me a sign.” I sighed. “Stormy?”

Then, she farted, and it was good enough for me.

 

I closed my book and set it down when I heard the front door open. It was Wade. He just came back from the hospital visiting his partner, Brady, who was shot near the chest and put in a coma about two weeks ago. 

 

“He’s awake,” Wade said, letting out a deep sigh of relief and a small smile grew on his face. The wrinkles around his mouth showed. 

“Glad to see you so happy about it,” I said nonchalantly, as usual. 

“I need you to do me a favor,” he says sitting down next to me and pulling out his wallet. “I want you to get him some flowers.”

“If it’s not one thing, it’s the other.”

“Don’t complain. I hardly ask you to do much. Besides, you like Brady. He’s been buying you your favorite snacks since you could barely speak.”

 

“I got it, I got it,” I say, heaving a sigh and getting up. Wade gave me a twenty and I shoved it in my pants pocket. “What kind of flowers am I getting?”

“Red carnations,” he answered. “Knowing you, you’d forget. Write it down on your hand.”

“Alright.” I wasn’t even offended. It was the truth. 

After writing down the name of the flowers I was getting and was given directions to the shop, I left the house. 

 

As I walked around the shopping district, I had my hands in my hoodie pocket, enjoying the fresh and cool air that hit my face. I loved winter. I’m so glad it’s winter break. 

“Jean!” A female voice called my name, and I turned around to see Sasha Blouse, Connie’s new girlfriend. They met the first day we went to college. 

 

Sasha ran over to me, Connie following slowly behind. Sasha always has her brown hair in a high ponytail and eats more than she should, but somehow manages to stay in shape. Yeah, she’s one of those. 

“What’s up? You two on a date?” I asked them when Connie caught up. 

“Yeah,” Connie said with a grin. “What about you? You on a play date with your little imaginary companions?”   
“They’ve got names. Didn’t I introduce you?”

“Funny.”   
“Thanks. I get paid a lot for funny things.”

 

“What are you doing out, Jean? It’s not normal to see you out by yourself,” Sasha added in. 

She isn’t wrong. I don’t like walking alone in public.

“Going to get flowers for Wade’s pal,” I breathed out, looking at my breath that was visible thanks to the cold weather. “I know there’s a shop around here somewhere.”

Before Connie could say anything, Sasha perked up.

“You mean the one by the bagel place? I think it’s called…” she drifted off.

 

“Bott’s Flowers,” Connie finished for her. “Look for the name in big, bold light blue letters. You’ll find it.”

“Thanks.” I started walking backwards before turning on my heel and headed towards said place. “Use protection,” I told them with a wave.

“Fuck off, Kirschtein!” Connie shouted.

 

As expected, right next to the bagel shop, there was Bott’s Flowers. When I walked in, a chime went off. It was the kind of chime your grandmother has on her front porch that sings whenever the wind blows. It was a homey sound. Blue irises caught my eye as soon as I walked in, and I walked over to them.

 

“I’ll be right with you, sir,” a male voice said from the other side of the small store. I just continued to look at the flowers. I was never really a fan of flowers. Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re pretty and all, but I don’t really want them to keep and look at every day. 

 

I never got flowers before if I really think about it. I mean, I got a fake rose from Armin once, but that was because he was handing them out to all of his friends. Eren, of course, got chocolate chip cookies made by Armin himself. I bet they tasted great. 

 

As I was recalling those high school memories, the chime rang, signaling that someone either came in or out. I looked towards the door to see that the woman left, and turned my head to see the florist walking towards me.

 

Now, this guy’s face was perfect. He had a sharp jawline, tan skin, brown eyes, and black hair. He also had freckles that spotted his cheeks and arms, which I thought were his most striking features. This guy was the actual definition of tall, tan, and handsome. 

 

“Sir?” His voice made me realize I was staring at his gorgeous face. It was like looking at the clouds and forgetting you were even alive. “Can I help you?”   
“Oh, u-uh,” I stammered, and then in a panic, I showed him my hand. 

He leaned in a little to read what was on my palm, and then smiled kindly. It was like an arrow was shot through my heart.

 

“Red carnations, huh?” The florist said, and then started walking to another side of the store. “How many do you need?” 

“Don’t know,” I managed to say. “A bouquet, I guess? How many flowers are even in a bouquet?”

“Well, let’s start off with how much money you have.”

“Twenty bucks.”

“That’ll get you a dozen.”

“Then I’ll take a dozen.”

He smiled wider. “Coming right up.”

 

I looked away from his bright beam. It was  _ too _ bright. I swung my arms back and forth, looking around the shop. I saw some pretty stuff. Just then, it felt like a thousand needles pierced my skin. I hissed in pain and turned around to see a cactus. I took steps backwards until my back hit a wall.

“Look out!” The florist shouted.

 

Right as he said that, a pot from the shelf above me fell and crashed on my head, just like in the cartoons, expect more embarrassing. I slid down on my ass and wanted to hide. An awkward silence filled the shop.

“I guess you can say that was pretty  _ smashing _ ,” he said, followed by awkward laughter. 

I looked up at him.

“That was awful, wasn’t it?” 

 

He helped me up and told me that he was going to head in the back for a first aid kit, and said that I could sit on the counter if I’d like. That’s exactly what I did. I sat on the counter pulling out the needles from the cactus, making a small noise in pain for each one.

 

I licked the blood from my hand until the florist came back, asking me what I was doing. I turned my head around to look at him.

“Cleaning,” I simply said.

“But that’s what I got the first aid kit for,” he says, making a bit of a pouty face. It looked super cute. 

“Sorry.” I shrugged. 

 

As he cleaned up my hand, I noticed how gentle his grip was around my wrist. I looked up at his focused expression and felt my heart throb. I haven’t been this nervous in a while. I looked down at the indigo apron he was wearing to see his name embroidered into it in dark blue.

“Marco.” I accidentally said it outloud.

“Yes?” He looked up at me.

“Oh, uh, it’s nothing,” I told him. “I just like your name.”

Marco chuckled. “Thank you.”

 

After putting the bandage wrap on my hand, he gave a smile of satisfaction to himself. 

“Done,” he said, standing up. “As an apology for what happened, please take the carnations for free.” 

For free? Normally, I wouldn’t question it. But something was wrong with me today. 

“No, it wouldn’t be right,” I said. “I did some damage to your potted plant. It’s best if we just forget it all and I pay for the flowers.”

 

Marco was reluctant. He seemed like he really wanted to me to take the carnations. I decided to grant his wish. 

“I’ll be going then.” I grabbed the bouquet and got off the counter. 

“Thank you,” I heard him say in relief. “I hope to see you again.”

I rolled my eyes. I hated it when employees would say that. It ended up raining that day.

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Lately all I’ve been doing is thinking about what to put on my Christmas list and what to get Wade. What do you even get for your adoptive father that is rarely at home? I didn’t want to be basic and get him a mug. Maybe I’ll get him an ugly Christmas sweater for him to wear at work so his colleagues can laugh at him. 

 

Christmas was a few days away, and I still had nothing on my list, and no ideas for a good gift.  _ Nada. _ It was so much easier as a kid. I’d write “money” down, but he said that wasn’t an option. I just wrote whatever: a beanie (maybe), get my ears pierced, a messenger bag, a hoodie, some fingerless gloves. Hey, I guess I did come up with some stuff. 

 

I gave myself a break from writing down a few things. I laid on the couch and Stormy hopped on my chest. 

“How about some tunes?” I asked her, grabbing my phone from the coffee table and then played a Sales playlist. 

 

After two songs, the front door opened and in walked Wade. I tried looking at him, but Stormy was in the way, so I gave up and dropped my head back down on the couch pillow. 

“Welcome home,” I say, staring up at the ceiling.

“Thanks.” He slapped my feet for me to move them, which I did. I picked up Stormy and sat up. 

“Anything fun happen?”

“Nope, but someone is finally moving in next door.”

“Oh, really?” I said with a monotoned and uninterested tone. 

“Show some excitement,” Wade tells me, shooting his eyes at me. “They’ve got a motorcycle out there.”   
“Good,” I said. “This neighborhood needs some noise.”

 

Still holding Stormy, I got up and walked upstairs to my room after Wade completely fell asleep in the middle of our conversation. I can’t really blame the guy, though. Detectives are busy people. I grew up with that. I learned to cope.

 

I ended up writing an ode. An ode to...Stormy. Yeah, and ode to Stormy. It was a long poem, despite it being about a pitbull puppy. I heard a knock at the door, and hurried to finish the last line to welcome our lovely guest, but Wade already answered. 

 

I leaned back in my leather desk chair, my head hanging upside down. I felt the blood rush to my head.

“Jean!” Wade called from downstairs. “Come down and meet our new neighbor!” 

I got up from my chair and mumbled things as I looked in the mirror. My hair was in all sorts of places and I wore a Green Day shirt and plaid pajama pants. 

I looked like garbage. It was some old biker dude anyway. I walked down the stairs and into the living room straightening my hair with my fingers and looked up to see that my new neighbor in fact wasn’t an old biker dude, but a familiar florist named Marco.

 

Marco’s brown eyes slightly widened when he caught sight of me, and I even felt my eyes go round in surprise, too.

“Jean,” Wade spoke up. I could barely hear him. “Meet Mr. Bott. He just moved in next door.”

I held out my hand to him. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jean.”

I tried to play it off like we hadn’t seen each other before, but he went straight for the “oh hey familiar person” route

 

“It’s nice to see you again.” He smiled kindly, shaking my hand. It was a professional greeting. 

“Again?” Wade quirked a brow. 

“We had met at my flower shop about a month ago,” Marco explained. 

“Is that right?”   
“Yes, sir.”

“I figured you too went to the same college.”

“Oh, no,” Marco smiled apologetically. “I don’t go to college. I work at Bott’s Flowers over on Scottsdale Road in the shopping district.”

“A worker, huh?”   
These two were in their own little world.

 

I stood there staring at Marco’s face. His sharp jawline. His handsome face. His freckles. Just then, his glance caught my gaze. 

“Oh, that’s right,” he says, his voice perking up. “I was wondering if you would like to come to my Christmas party?”

“Christmas party?” Wade raised his brows. “I would, but I’m working on Christmas day.”   
I knew it.

“Jean,” Wade turned to me. “Why don’t you go?”

“ _ Me _ ?” I furrowed my brows in confusion. “You know I don’t like parties.”

“It’s Christmas. I don’t want you to be alone on Christmas.”

 

Marco listened to our conversation, looking at Wade, then back to me, then back at Wade, and finally looked at me for an answer. 

“Sure,” I say with a sigh. “Why not?”

“Great,” Marco grinned. “It starts at three. I’ll see you then. It was nice meeting you.”

Both men reached out at the same time and shook hands.

“Likewise.” Wade smiled politely. 

“I look forward to seeing you there, Jean.”

“Yeah,” I simply respond.

And with that, he left the house

 

“He seems like a good kid,” Wade said, going upstairs to his room. I watched as Stormy wagged her tail seeing him and followed him. 

“I guess.” I shrugged and walked upstairs. I stood at his doorway. “I want my dog back.”   
“You like him, don’t you?”

“Like who?”   
“Marco.”   
“I just met the guy.”

 

Wade knows I’m gay. I told him this in middle school, and he didn’t give a shit. He just said “okay” and continued sipping his coffee. I asked him if he was upset. He said no. I asked him if he wanted a grandchild. He said he doesn’t care either way. I liked the bond that we had.

“Was it love at first sight?” 

“I think he’s good looking.”

“Here,” he says, picking up Stormy and bringing her over to me. “Take this. It’ll be a tough journey.”

“Nothing is going to happen.” I took Stormy from him, and then went to my room.

_ At least, I hope nothing happens. _

 

Today was the day of the Christmas party. I even marked my calendar for this “special occasion”, as one would call it. If I didn’t, I probably would have forgotten all about it. This was a miracle in our small family of two. It’s not normal that I would agree to go out, especially to a party. If I was going out, I was going to do it in style. I showed up fashionably late wearing nice jeans and a button up. 

 

It was six o’clock. Three hours late. Perfect timing. As I was walking to the house next door, I heard loud music from inside and saw people standing by the door with red solo cups, laughing and talking. I didn’t expect this from him. I expected nice neighbors having a tea party, not college jocks and girls dressed like strippers. It was freezing outside.

 

I walked into the house because the door was already open. I welcomed myself in and squeeze through the crowded living room. It seemed like a stereotypical college party. I’m pretty sure there’s some girl face down in the toilet vomiting and two people are doing it in the guest bedroom. I already hated it.

 

“Jean!” I heard Marco’s voice shout. I turned my head to see him pushing through the people to get to me. When he reached me, he let out a sigh. “I’m glad to see a familiar face.”

“What do you mean, familiar face?” I questioned. “Didn’t you invite all of these people?”

“Not exactly,” he said, seeming troubled.

“Who’s this guy?” Some tall guy popped up from behind him. He had long legs and dirty blond hair with light brown eyes. He was like Marco. Handsome.

“This is Jean, my neighbor,” Marco introduced me. “Jean, this is my friend, Duke.”

_ What a typical jock boy name _ , I thought. I was placing my bets that this guy was behind all of this.

“He’s behind all of this,” Marco said as if reading my mind. 

“Oh, please,” Duke says loudly. “You don’t know how to party. I bet you were going to have a bunch of old ladies here anyway.”

“This party was meant for the neighbors, not your college friends,” he retorted calmly. 

Duke left, and Marco turned to me.

“We’ve got to get these people out of here.”

“Agreed,” I said.

And so, the mission was on.

 

We split up and told people that they had to leave. Some of them stayed, and some of them actually left. Marco had more luck than I did. I couldn’t believe this was how I was spending my Christmas evening, telling a bunch of college students to leave my hot neighbor’s house. Eventually, I stopped being so polite. My mistake.

 

“Hey, it’s time to bounce,” I told a group of jocks. They all turned around and glared at me. It felt like my ears were being pushed in.

“And who are you?” One of them asked. 

“Host of this party,” I lied, “and it’s time to go.”

“Look, punk bitch,” he started off with those words I loved oh so dearly. “You don’t tell us what to do.”   
“Well I did, so,  _ bounce _ .”

 

The guy grabbed the collar of my shirt and got close to my face. I wasn’t afraid of him. I was used to getting Connie out of fights with guys bigger than this.

“Stop, leave him alone!” A girl shouted, trying to get to us, but his pals held her back. 

“I said leave,” I told him sternly.

“Fuck. You. You. Punk. Bitch.” 

That was my last straw. I spit in his eye, and he shoved me to the floor. Right when he was about to punch me in the face, someone got in the way. It was Marco. His pretty little face got decked just now. It looked like he used all of his might in that punch, and Marco took it like a champ.

 

“Party’s over.” His voice came out strong and stern. I didn’t know what it was. Was it the look in his eyes? I couldn’t tell. Was it because they noticed he can take a punch? I don’t know. But whatever it was, it made everyone start to leave.

 

As Marco helped me up, people evacuated. Eventually, the house was empty, or so we thought. There was a sudden loud thud that came from upstairs. 

“Stay behind me,” Marco told me as we walked up the stairs to a room. He gulped before opening the door, and just as I predicted, there was a couple having sex on the bed. 

 

The girl immediately stopped riding him as soon as she caught sight of us. She gasped and let out an “oh my god” and the guy just stayed quiet. Marco covered his eyes as I bit my fist trying not to laugh.

“The party’s over!” He shouted, his voice cracking and his ears red. 

The couple hurriedly got dressed and left the room. When they were gone, I laughed so hard I almost pissed myself!

 

“That’s not funny,” Marco said, red in the face. His reaction only made laugh more.

“Alright, alright,” I said, calming down. “Do you need help cleaning up this hot mess?”   
“Oh, no. I can’t have a guest do that.”

“It’s fine. Do you really want this ‘punk bitch’ to spend his Christmas alone?”

“You’re not a punk B, Jean.”

“B?” I questioned. “God, Marco. Say it.”

“Um. Bitch?”

I laughed. “There you go.”

 

I ended up helping Marco clean the house. I was in charge of beer and soda cans, tossing them into garbage bags while Marco picked up the trash. I then vacuumed the living room and upstairs. I hated the noise it made. We straightened out the pillows on the couch, and Marco had vomit duty, thank goodness. One whiff of that smell and I’d probably throw up, too.

 

Once everything was nice and clean, we both collapsed on his living room floor. His house was pretty big for a guy that lived by himself.

“Thank you very much,” Marco says, breathing out.

“Thanks to you, too,” I said. “I probably would’ve lost a tooth if you hadn’t stepped in.”

“It was no problem, please don’t worry about it. I should apologize, though. If I hadn’t asked you for this favor, the argument wouldn’t have happened.”   
  


“Still, thanks, and thanks for the whole cactus thing.” I let out a small laugh, remembering what happened that day.

Marco chuckled. “You should head home. Your dad might be coming home soon.”

“He probably won’t come home until midnight, but I can get out of your hair.”

“Are you sure? I can make some dinner-”

“No, that’s alright,” I said, getting up and standing on my feet. “I’ve got a turkey to make.”

“Alright then,” he, too, stood up and walked me to the door. “I hope to see you again soon.”

“There you go again,” I said, crossing my arms. “We’re not going to see each other again.”

“That’s what I thought last time, yet here we are again.” He beamed happily.

I rolled my eyes. “Goodnight.”   
“Goodnight, Jean.”

I went back home that night smiling to myself.


	4. Chapter 4

I’ve been hanging out with Ymir and Christa lately, being the third wheel. I’ve only got four friends: Ymir, Christa, Sasha, and Connie. If I’m not third wheeling one couple it’s the other. I don’t really mind though. I actually like being single, probably because I’m still hung up on Armin, even though he moved last summer. 

 

I wanted to get Armin off my mind, so I went over to Connie’s house to help him watch his younger siblings which were all girls. One of his little sisters, Rose, gives me confidence because she constantly reminds me how handsome I am. 

 

“Don’t listen to Rose,” Connie said. We were hanging out in his room while his sisters played Twister in the living room. “You’re not that attractive.”

“You know you’re a little gay for me,” I say, flipping through the Entertainment magazine. 

“The only way I’d be gay for you is if by the time we’re forty, I’d marry you.”   
“No thanks.” I laughed. 

 

“Jean!” Emerald shouted, slamming the door open. I noticed something different about her. She lost her other front tooth. 

“Hey, Em.” I grinned widely, opening my arms for her to hug me. 

“I got a dollar from the tooth fairy,” she whispers in my ear very loudly.

“Oh, man,” I say, poking her in the stomach. “You should lend it to me sometime. College is hard.”

“Jean,” Connie says sternly. 

 

Emerald ran off as soon as she heard one of her sisters calling her, and Connie let out a groan.

“Yes?” I look at him.

“Don’t teach my little sisters about the real world. I’ll kick your ass.”   
“Dude, I’m pretty sure Sasha has a better chance at kicking my ass than you do.”

“Get out of here, Kirschtein.” He throws a pillow at me.

“Alright,” I say, laughing. “I’ll see you later.”   
“Yeah, later.”

On my way home, it started to rain. I wish I had a bini or an umbrella or something. I like the rain and all, but not when it gets in my hair and I have to shower or else I’ll get sick. 

 

At my front door, I reached into my pocket to grab my keys when all of the sudden I heard a door slam. I turned my head to see Marco leaving his house with that Duke fellow. I watched as they made their way to a nice mustang, and Marco’s glance caught my stare. He waved his hand and I waved back. I then unlocked the door and walked inside.

 

I let out a sigh as I close the door behind me. I was going to yell that I was home, but I didn’t feel like talking to myself today. I heard the sound of tapping come down the stairs, and there was Stormy coming down, her tail wagging and eyes bright.

 

“I guess I’m not completely by myself.” I picked her up and walked over to the couch. I laid down and set her on my chest. She sat there, staring at me, her blue eyes seeming like a galaxy. I was taught by Ymir that if you are ever in a staring contest with a dog, never look away. It gives them power or something like that. I stared until she looked down and gave myself a mental high five.

 

Stormy then laid down and closed her eyes, and I decided to do the same. I dreamed of Ymir and Christa. They were getting married. Ymir wore a tux and Christa wore a poofy white wedding dress. Connie, Sasha and I were in the crowd throwing flower petals. 

 

Just then, I heard a doorbell ring that made me jolt awake. Stormy jumped off my chest and started to bark. I picked up my phone and turned it on to see that it was exactly three in the morning. I saw a movie about this once. Aliens came down to Earth and went to some chick’s house at three in the morning. I braced myself, but when I opened the door, I saw something I would have never expected.

 

There stood Marco, reeking of alcohol leaning against my door frame. His eyes were glossy and his mouth was hanging wide open. He was going to catch flies. 

“Dude, are you drunk?” I asked, when it was obvious that he was.

“Yep,” he slurred, and then suddenly tried walking in but fell on me, his whole weight on my body. 

“Jesus, how much do you weigh?” I tried putting his arm over my shoulders and somehow succeeded. I carried him over to the couch.

 

I carefully laid him down. He closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose, scratching his stomach like a huge drunkard. I caught sight of his happy trail and immediately looked away. 

 

“I’ll go get you some water,” I said, walking off into the kitchen. “Stay there.” I grabbed a glass from the cupboard and put some tap water in it. I walked back into the living room.

“Sit up,” I told him. Pleasantly obedient, he did as told and lazily sat up rubbing his face.

“I’m so drunk,” he moaned.

“Yeah, I can tell.”

Marco gulped down the water, and then slammed the glass on the table.

“Oh, no.”

I knew exactly what was coming up.

“Don’t you dare!”

“I can’t, I-”

 

“Hold it in!” I shouted as I ran into the nearest bathroom to grab the small trash bin. Right when he was about to blow, I slammed the trash bin right in front of him. Marco grabbed it, shoved in his face in, and vomited. The smell was awful.

“I’m sorry,” he groaned. 

I exhaled, folding my arms. “It’s fine, just go home.”

“I can’t.”   
“What do you mean you can’t?

“I lost my keys at the bar.”

I mentally smacked my forehead. 

“Can I stay here, please?” He laid back down on the couch closing his eyes, and within an instant, fell asleep.

 

I was going to smack his head to wake him up, but his sleeping face reminded me of a puppy’s, so I couldn’t go through with it. I watched as he slept, zoning out staring at his beautifully structured face. I couldn’t get over it. 

 

I walked to the closet to grab a thick blanket. It was one of the blankets that Wade and I liked the least in case he wakes up and vomits again. After spreading the blanket on him, I then went upstairs to grab my laptop and walked back down. I sat in the recliner next to the couch Marco slept on and started to type my essay. Man, do I hate college, and it was only my freshman year there, too. God help this poor soul, I prayed. 

 

Two hours passed and I was almost done with my essay. I heard the doorknob jiggle, and I looked up from my screen to see Wade walking in. 

“Shhh.” I put a finger to my lips. 

It took Wade a few seconds to realize what was going on, and who was asleep on the couch. 

“What’s he doing here?” He whispered, taking off his coat and putting it on the coat rack. 

“He was drunk and lost the key to his house.” I tried to be quiet, but not too quiet to where Wade couldn’t hear me.

 

He let out a long exhausted sigh before walking up the stairs silently without saying another word. Wade must like him that much, otherwise he would probably wake him up and kick him to the curb. I looked back at my screen with burning eyes and continued to type my essay. Everything was a blur then. I don’t even remember what I wrote or if I even made a works cited page. All I remember was going to my room and falling asleep.

 

The next morning, I woke up at nine o’clock. I woke up in a daze. I stood up to find I was disoriented from tiredness. My vision spotted black and my head spun. I had to grab a wall for a second to regain composure. I left my room yawning and slowly walked downstairs, feeling as though if I went to fast, I would trip and fall on my face. When I got downstairs, I saw that the couch was empty and the blanket was folded neatly.

 

I could hear the sizzling sound of eggs cooking and smelled bacon. I thought I died and went to heaven. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw Marco standing by the stove with a spatula in hand and a cup of coffee in the other. 

 

I noticed Wade sitting at the counter with a plate of bacon and eggs and his World’s Best Detective mug with the newspaper in his hands. Once Marco caught sight of me, he turned his head and smiled.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning?”   
He chuckled. “That sounds more like a question than a greeting.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be, like, hung over?”

“No, I’m not.” He smiled even wider. 

 

“Leave the kid alone,” Wade spoke up. “This is his way of making it up to you. Just accept it.”

“I’m sorry for barging in drunk like that. That was very ungentlemanly of me.”   
“Ungentlemanly, huh?” I smiled wryly.

He blushed. “I did it again, didn’t I?”   
I assumed he was talking about speaking like a British person. “Yeah, you did.” 

 

I sat down next to Wade. Marco slid the eggs on a plate that already had bacon on it and set it down in front of me. 

“Coffee?” He asked. 

“Sure. Two spoons of sugar.”

“You got it.”

 

The sound of the spoon clinking against the cip as he stirred in the sugar was like music to my ears. He set down the mug in front of me and gave me a smile.

“Hope you enjoy,” he said. I swear, this guy should quit his job at the flower shop and work as a waiter. 

“Thanks.” I grabbed the mug by its handle and blew into it before taking a sip. I looked up to see Marco washing dishes he used to cook and Wade’s empty plate. 

“I can do the rest,” I told him. 

“Oh, are you sure?” He stopped to turn his head around.

“Positive.”

“Well,” says, hesitating for a moment, “alright then.”

 

He dried his hands and thanked me and apologized once more, then said that he was going to head out.

“Where are you going?” I asked, curiosity kicking my ass.

“To the bar.”   
“I’ll give you a ride.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’d be my pleasure. Never been to a straight bar before.”

“Alright,” Marco says with a laugh, and he probably thought I was joking. 

 

In the car, I hooked up my phone to the aux cord and played 80’s music. My favorite came on.  _ Come on Eileen  _ by Dexy’s Midnight Runners. 

“Poor old Johnny Ray,” Marco sang. 

I shot my head at him. “You know this song?”

“Who doesn’t know this song?” His brown eyes went wide and a grin was plastered on his face. 

I laughed. “Believe it or not, but most people I know never listened to this.” 

 

I turned the volume up, and we both sang along to  _ Come on Eileen  _ like total dorks. For some reason, it made me feel pretty happy and special. Rather, I felt like Marco was special. I felt like  _ we _ were special, just because we know a song that some people don’t. It was like that song belonged to us, but I know it didn’t. 

 

I pulled up into the parking lot at the bar. Marco and I laughed at our horrible singing once the music stopped.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, taking off his seatbelt.

I sat back in my seat as he slammed the door shut, chuckling to myself. I watched as he walked into the bar, staring at his muscles. I bet he’s straight. 

 

Two minutes passed when the door opened and out walked Marco. He lifted the keys to show me he got them, and I responded with a thumbs up. He got in the car and put on his seatbelt.

“Thanks a lot for this,” he said.

“Thanks for breakfast,” I respond. “It was good.”

As I pulled out the parking lot,  _ Jessie’s Girl  _ played. Neither of us sang to it, though. When we reached my house, I parked in the driveway and we both got out.

 

“I’ll see you later?” Marco questioned, scratching the back of his head like a shy school girl.

“If you want,” I said, shrugging my shoulders, acting as though I didn’t really care if we saw each other again when in reality I really wanted to hang out with him some time.

“Great,” he said, and then headed over to his house. 

I noticed how broad his shoulders are. Too bad he’s straight.


	5. Chapter 5

It was six in the morning, and all I could hear was the sound of a lawnmower. I covered my face with a pillow. No luck. I chuckled the pillow across the room and threw the blanket off of me. Storming to the front door, I grumbled curse words like a sailor. 

 

I opened the door and looked out to see Marco shirtless, mowing his lawn. As attractive as that was, it was still annoying.

“Hey!” I shouted. “Would you shut the fuck up, please?!” 

Marco stopped and looked up at me, wiping sweat off his forehead. I could see his armpit hair.

“I’m sorry!” He called back. “I’ll stop now!”   
“Thank you,” I breathed out closing the door. I walked back upstairs and over to my bed and stretched myself out. 

 

Before I knew it, my alarm clock went off.  _ Are you fucking kidding me _ , I thought. I opened my heavy eyelids to see Stormy in front of my face. I sighed as she started licking me. Puppy breath. It was already eight, and my class starts at nine. I got in the shower and blow dried my hair. The usual routine. I got dressed in a grey hooded short sleeve and a pair of ripped jeans. I skipped breakfast and brushed my teeth, apart of my routine as well. They say food feeds the brain. Maybe that’s why I’m failing my first class. I left the house and locked the door behind me.

 

I turned my head to see Marco now dressed in a polo shirt watering his plants. They were flowers, of course. Roses, in fact. He must have felt me watching, because he looked my way.

“Good morning, Jean,” he says, smiling and waving. “Where are you headed off to?”

“School,” I responded fixing the strap on my backpack. 

 

“I saw your dad take the car this morning,” he said as he scratched the back of his neck. “Do you need a ride?”

“On your motorcycle? No thanks.”

“Are you sure? Or are you afraid?”   
It seemed like he was teasing me.

“I’m not afraid.”

“Then hop on.”

 

This guy was really pushing my buttons. He wasn’t even saying much and he still seemed very persistent to me. I decided to get on. I walked over to his motorcycle and I could tell he was smiling to himself in satisfaction.

“I’ll be right back,” he told me. “I have another helmet inside the house.”

“Yeah, whatever.” I crossed my arms, examining his ride. It was black and shiny, like our Acura. 

 

I wondered how he could afford it, then I remembered he has his own business. Marco came back with a helmet. Instead of tossing it like a cool guy would, he walked all the way over and handed it to me like a gentleman.

 

He put on his helmet and got on the bike. I followed suit and put both straps of my backpack on my shoulders. 

“Grab on tight,” he said. 

I wrapped my arms around his torso and swallowed hard. I’ve never been this close to a dude before. I wasn’t used to hugging such a strong guy. Armin was always small and a little frail, so hugging him felt like hugging a little kitten. Now it feels like I’m hugging a bear. The motorcycle started moving, and my heart stopped. Okay, so maybe I was a little afraid.

 

As he drove, I squeezed on tighter to him. My helmet pressed against his broad back, and I gulped. Suddenly, he shifted uncomfortably. 

“Your hands are too low,” he said.

I felt sick to my stomach with myself and hurriedly put my arms higher. 

“Sorry.”   
“It’s fine.”

From behind, I could see him sweat.

 

We finally reached the school, and I sighed in relief. I took off the helmet that I sweated under. That shower was basically useless. I was sweating all over. I felt everyone watch as I got off his bike and faced him.

“Do you need a ride home?” He asked.

I shook my head. “No, it’s alright. Thanks, Marco.”

He smiled at me. “My pleasure. Have a good day.”

And with that, he took off. 

“Jean!” I heard Ymir call my name. I turned around to see her walking towards me. “Who was  _ that _ ?”

“I’ll tell you later.” I waved my hand.

 

Later came sooner than I thought. During our lunch break, we walked over to a family restaurant. We sat and discussed Marco.

“So, who was the hunk?” She asked suggestively, stirring her drink with her straw. Her nails were painted dark purple.

“My new neighbor,” I explained. “You know that flower shop by the bagel place? That’s where he works.”

“Is that how you met him?”

I tapped my finger on my nose. “Bingo.”

“Attractive, and he works at a flower shop. He’s a keeper, but frankly, my dear, he’s way out of your league.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my cola. It was cold, like Ymir’s soul. I wanted to tell her that, but she opened her big mouth before I could. 

“So why was McDreamy giving you a ride? You begged, didn’t you?” She says, leaning in to see if I was lying.

“You think I begged? You really don’t know me.”

“Don’t tell me he offered.”

“Once again, bingo.”

“Jeez, this guy is perfect. Hot, works at a flower shop, rides a motorcycle,  _ and _ offers rides to those in need. Why haven’t you tried to get at that yet?”

“Yeah, well, he’s straight, so…” I drifted off.

“Did you ask, or are you just assuming again?”

I grunted. “He’s obviously straight.”

“Maybe I should ask him myself.”

 

“Hell no,” I told her. “I’m not having him meet you guys.” There was no way. They’d just embarrass me in front of him. Normally I don’t care what people think, but this guy was perfect. I don’t like perfect people thinking bad of me. My pride is too great.

“Some day, Jean-bo,” she says before taking a sip of her Sprite. “Does Armin know about him?”

“I haven’t talked to him in a while. I’m just waiting for him to show up at my door,” I said like a Disney princess, and then switched to Shakespeare. “Romeo, Romeo,” I started. “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” 

 

“Oh wow, you’re real cute, Jean,” Ymir says sarcastically, rolling her eyes and took a long drink of her soda. 

I bit my thumb.

“Do you bite your thumb at me, sir?” 

“I do bite my thumb, sir.”   
“Do you bite your thumb at  _ me _ , sir?

“No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir!”

She took out her straw from her glass and I did the same.

“On guard!” She shouted a little too loudly, gaining the attention of the other customers. They watched as we played with our straws. We got kicked out for being too loud.

 

Once classes were over, I walked out to the front. I expected Marco to be there, but then I remembered I told him not to pick me up. I wanted to punch myself in the face as I walked home. It took me a good fifteen minutes to get there, and it was already five o’clock. I had another essay to complete yet again. I started on that as soon as I got in my room.

 

Time passed and it was already seven. It took me two hours with some breaks in between to finish it. That was a new record. I closed my laptop, and just then, I heard a familiar sound. 

 

The song blasted from Marco’s house, and I moved the curtains from the window to see him. He was dressed in Cookie Monster pajamas jamming out to  _ Undercover Martyn  _ by Two Door Cinema Club. 

“You hid there last time, you know we’re gonna find you!” He sang, holding a comb in his hand. “Sick in the carseat ‘cause you’re not up to going!”

 

I laughed. This was truly the most entertaining thing all day. A hot guy like that acting like a total dork. I grinned to myself, resting my hand on my chin as my elbow was on the window sill. Just then, he looked my way, and his face turned a crimson color. He rushed to his window and closed the curtains. I fell off my chair dying of laughter. 

“Oh my god!” I laughed. My sides were hurting.

 

Suddenly, I heard tapping at my window. I looked to see Marco throwing marbles. I slid the window open. 

“Please don’t tell anyone about this,” he pleaded with a frightened look on his face.

I smiled wide. “You’re lucky I didn’t get you on camera.”

“Oh, god,” he says sighing and running his fingers through his hair. It was pretty sexy. “Please? Promise me?”

“Yeah, yeah. I promise.”

“Thank you.”

 

There was an awkward silence between us. We both had our heads sticking out our windows. It felt like that one scene from that Taylor Swift music video. 

“So what are you up to?” Marco asked, breaking the silence.

“I just finished an essay.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yeah. You?”

“I’m pretty sure we both know what I was doing.”

“I like that song, too,” I say with a little bit of laughter. 

“You do? Do you listen to their music?”

“Yep. I like  _ What You Know _ .”

“I’m glad I found someone else that listens to them.”

 

We talked about music for a few minutes, which somehow turned into a conversation about how hot dogs are made. It was like when you stay up all night and end up on the weird side of YouTube.

“Speaking of hot dogs,” I began, “what team do you play for?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with hot dogs? I don’t really play any sports.”

“Marco, no,” I said, dropping my shoulders and squinting at him, wondering how he’s so innocent. “I mean, are you gay or straight?”

 

“Oh, um,” he stammered, looking away. Just when I thought we were getting to know each other, I made him uncomfortable.

“Sorry, that was a weird thing to ask, wasn’t it?” I smile sadly. “Well, just to let you know, I’m gay.”

Marco’s face lit up. “M-Me too!”

My eyes rounded. “Seriously? You got a boyfriend?”   
“No.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I, um, I’m not quite sure how else to simplify it? I’m single?”

 

_ How _ , I wondered. This guy was hot as hell,  _ and _ he has his own business- a flower shop for Pete’s sake. What kind of sick joke was this?

“Are you sure?” I asked. 

“Positive,” he laughed. “How about you?”

“Taken.”

“Oh, really?” He seemed genuinely surprised.

“What kind of reaction is that?”

Harley rested his folded arms on the window sill. “You just seem like the independent type.”

“Yeah, well, I lied,” I told him honestly this time, also putting my arms on the window sill. “I’m as single as a pringle.”   
“But pringles aren’t single?”   
“I’m going to punch you.”

 

Just then, a car pulled into his driveway. We both turned our heads to look who got out the car, and it was that tall guy from the party. What was his name? Doodoo?

“Sorry, I gotta go,” he said. “Duke’s here.”

Duke. I knew that. 

“Tell him I said hello,” I joked, but of course he took me seriously and said “okay.” I swear, he resembles a puppy sometimes. I went back to my bed and flopped down.

_ So he’s gay, huh? _


	6. Chapter 6

There we stood. Wade, Marco, and I surrounded Stormy who sat there looking up at us with dirt on her snout and blood on her paws from the thorns of Marco’s rose garden. To cut this story short, Stormy got out and attacked the roses in Marco’s garden.

 

“We’re very sorry for this,” Wade apologized for the both of us. He usually had to do this. He says what I do reflects on him. One time, I had to babysit my nephew and he ended up falling in the pool in their backyard. He apologized to my aunt for not raising me correctly. 

“No worries,” Marco says with an honest smile, waving it off as no big deal. 

“”No, I can’t help but feel bad. I see you put so much work into your gardens every morning.”

“Please, sir, I can just make another garden.”

“Ah, I have an idea,” Wade says, grinning. “How about Jean takes you out to dinner?”

 

Ever since Wade found out about Marco being gay, he’s been  _ praying _ that we get together. He’s always asking Marco if he needs help with anything and that I’ll do it. He hasn’t even gotten my permission. A father doesn’t normally act like this. He’s acting the complete opposite of a normal father. Then again, he isn’t really an actual dad.

 

“No, really, it’s okay.” Marco smiled nervously and even sweated a little. Was it the warm weather? Spring is getting here.

“Are you saying you don’t want to go to dinner with my son?” Wade stopped smiling. His question sounded more like an angry statement.

“I’m not saying that at all, sir!” Marco took him seriously, of course. 

“Good,” Wade says laughing and then smacked his back. When he does that to me, it stings, but Marco hardly flinched at all. “Pick him up at seven and have him home by ten, got it?”   
“Y-Yes, sir,” Marco stammered.

I didn’t think my first date would be forced by Wade.

 

At five o’clock, I threw paper clips at Marco’s window. The curtains opened and there he stood. He opened his window and stuck his head out.   
“Yes?”

“Where do you wanna go out to eat? I’m buying, like Wade said.”   
“If you’re paying, then let’s eat at wherever you want to go.”

“No, this is about you,” I argued. “My dog totally took a shit on your garden. Just pick a place if you really forgive me. “

“Wherever is cheapest.”

 

I let out a deep sigh in frustration. “You know what? Just because you said that, we’re going somewhere expensive.”   
“Then I’ll pay half the bill.”

“Marco,  _ no _ .”

“Yes,” he says back. “It’s only fair if we go somewhere expensive.”   
“Don’t you dare. If you do, then you don’t really forgive me.”   
“But I do forgive you.”   
“So accept me paying for dinner as an apology.”

Marco rubbed the side of his neck looking to the side for a moment before giving in with a sigh.

“Alright, fine.”

 

“Dress in something nice,” I told him with a smile. It was a confident smile. I felt good about myself. I usually win arguments. 

“Something nice, huh?” Marco rested his chin on both his hands, looking at me with sparkling eyes. “So does this mean you’ll be wearing non-ripped jeans?” 

I grunted. “Don’t even go there.”

He chuckled. “I’ll pick you up at seven, then.”

“Sure thing.”   
With that, we both closed our windows. 

 

I picked out a formal button up and a tie, and of course, jeans  _ with _ rips in them. I took a shower, blow dried my hair, and got dressed in the outfit I picked out for myself. I combed my hair and styled it three different ways. I decided to go with how it usually looks. 

 

Before I knew it, it was already seven o’clock, and the doorbell rang. I ran my fingers through my hair looking in the mirror and then answered the door. When I opened, there stood a tall Marco. I looked him up and down. He had dress shoes on, a dark grey vest over a white button up and dress pants. His hair was styled normally like mine. I smirked.

“You clean up nice,” I said.

“You do, too,” he says with a smile. “Shall we go?”

He held out his arm.

I laughed and locked my arm around his. “Yes, we shall.”

“Wait a minute,” Wade says with a stern voice. “Pictures first.”

 

“We’re going out to eat, not to prom,” I argued, but it was too late. Wade was already busting out his sad little flip phone and hed it out to take a picture. I looked at Marco who was already looking at me. We both stood there awkwardly and smiled as he took the picture.

“There we go.” Wade grinned, showing off the wrinkles around his mouth.

“Can we go now?” I asked.

“Yeah, yeah, get out of here.”   
“Thank you.”   
“I’ll be sure to bring him back home by ten, sir.”

“You better.”

 

We left the house and walked to his motorcycle. Marco handed me a helmet and I put it on. He did the same. I had to take a deep breath in and out as I held onto him before he started driving off. The night was lit up by street and car lights. I don’t go out often at night, so it was really beautiful to see the city lit like this.

 

When we got to the restaurant, Marco took off his helmet and got off the bike. I followed suit. I looked at the building with amazement. It looked really fancy from the outside, but when we walked in, my brows raised. I hadn’t seen anything like it. It was truly exquisite. Now I’m using words like Marco. 

 

There were fancy people everywhere eating fancy food. No one in the restaurant had ripped jeans. I felt out of place. 

“Table for two, please,” Marco says like an adult. Now that I think about it, I never asked Marco how old he is. 

“Right this way,” the man guided us to a clean table with a fancy set of candles in the center and forks, spoons, and knives wrapped in napkins. The man set down two menus and left. 

 

During that time, Marco pulled out a chair for me. I was waiting for  _ him _ to sit down and then realized what he was doing. I chuckled as I sat down, and Marco pushed in the chair before going to the other end of the table to sit in his seat. We both looked at the menu. I peeked up from mine to look at him. 

 

He looked up from his menu and smiled at me. It took me aback for a second, but I awkwardly gave a small smile back. Just then, a handsome waiter came to our table, and I mean  _ handsome _ . It’s like they only allow beautiful people in this place. Once again, I felt out of place.

“Hello, my name is Alfred and I will be your waiter for tonight,” the waiter said with a bright, straight toothed smile. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Raspberry iced tea, please,” Marco and I said at the same time, and we shot our heads at each other.

 

Instead of making a weird face, Alfred only beamed showing his dimples and wrote down our order for drinks.

“I will be back soon with your drinks,” he said before walking off.

Marco laughed. “Raspberry iced tea, huh?”

“Oh I don’t wanna hear anything from you.” I crossed my arms. 

“Have you been here before?” He asked.

“No, never,” I answered, looking around at the classy ass people. “You?”

“Once, with my mother and little brother.”

“You’ve got a little brother?”

“Yep. He’s ten.”

“Oh, and how old are you?”   
“Twenty-one. How about you?”   
“Twenty.”

“Youngster.” Harley chuckled.

 

I faked laughter and asked him what he was going to get. He said what was on my mind. I squinted at him.

“Stop doing that.”

“Stop what?”

“Ordering everything I order.”

 

Marco let out a small laugh and apologized. Even his laugh was perfect. What was up with this guy? He’s so perfect it makes my stomach hurt. Alfred came back with our drinks and took our order, and when we both ordered the same thing, he called us a wonderful couple. Neither of us denied it. Why didn’t he deny it?

“Everyone looks so fancy,” I spoke my thoughts from earlier to get rid of the awkwardness.

“I suppose so.”

“I bet they have fancy names.”

“How about the woman in the red dress over there?” He nudged his head to the right. 

“Charlotte, for sure. How about that guy next to her?”

“Atticus, and the one to your left?”

“Benjamin.”

We ended up giving long and classy names to the people in the restaurant. I never thought I’d have so much fun doing that. Marco turned his head around to look for more people, making it completely obvious.

“Oh, how about that couple all the way in the back?” He asked.

I looked past his shoulder, and there I saw Armin.


	7. Chapter 7

“Armin?” My jaw dropped and my eyes went wide. I felt like I was going to throw up my heart.

“Armin?” Marco repeated. 

There was no doubt about it. It looked just like him. The person sitting across from him was Eren. The only thing different about him was that he didn’t have his piercings in. Suddenly, Armin’s glance met my stare, and his blue eyes rounded. I saw his lips move, and Eren turned around. He looked less than pleased, but of course, he had to put on a front for Armin who wiped his mouth and got up to walk over to us. Eren followed.

 

When they reached us, I stood up and Armin looked up at me with an excited smile on his face. 

“Hey,” he says. “What are you doing here?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” I asked with a straight face. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in state?”

“We just got here and decided to eat before we got to our new apartment.”

“ _ You’re moving back _ ?”

“Surprise!” 

“We were going to come visit you after we settled into our new home,” Eren said, folding his arms.

 

I wondered if they really were going to stop by. I wondered why he stopped texting me. A million questions ran through my mind, but I didn’t ask any of them.

“Sorry to interrupt your date,” Armin apologized. “Is this your boyfriend?”

Before I could say no, Marco spoke up first.

“Yes,” he said, standing up and holding out his hand. They shook hands with greeting smiles on their faces. What was this guy thinking?

“I’m Marco.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Armin, and this is my finace, Eren.”

Fiance…?

“Congratulations!”   
Don’t congratulate them.

 

“So is Wade okay with you dating?” Armin turned his head to look at me. His smile killed me. For once, in a bad way.

“Yeah, he is,” I told him. I wasn’t really lying. He wanted Marco and I to date anyway.

“That’s good,” Armin says happily. “We ought to get back to our table. It was nice to meet you, Marco.”   
“Nice meeting you, too.”

“I’ll see you later, Jean.”   
“Yeah, later.”

 

They left back to the table talking and laughing together. Armin, my childhood friend and first love, was getting married. I looked down at my hands, feeling my face turn emotionless. I felt numb, but it hurt so much.

“Why’d you say you’re my boyfriend?” I asked silently.

“Because I thought he was your ex-boyfriend, and it seemed like you still had feelings for him,” Marco said in a serious tone.

I looked up at him. “What would you know?”

“I know you like him, and that he was here with another guy.”

Now I was really mad. He was rubbing it in.

“I don’t need you to back me up. I can speak for myself.”   
“Sorry,” he apologized, looking down at the table.

 

Alfred later on came with our food. He set down the plates, and the food looked like the ones in the pictures. It washed away some of my angry emotions. Yes, food is that powerful to me. 

“Is there anything else I can get you?” He asked with a polite smile.

“No, thank you.” Marco returned a smile. It was his professional one.

“Enjoy your food.”

We ate out food in silence. It was an uncomfortable silence. 

 

All the while, my heart was throbbing painfully. It was like my chest was being squeezed. Armin is getting married, and it hurt admitting that fact to myself. What was I thinking? They were always a good couple. Was I hoping that they’d break up and I’d be the one to heal his broken heart and he’d fall in love with me? What was my deal?

 

Marco and I said nothing on our way home. The motorcycle ride was a quick blur. I was no longer afraid or holding onto him too tightly. He pulled up in front of his house, and I took off the helmet and gave it to him. 

“Thank you for tonight,” he says, smiling. 

I didn’t say anything back and walked to my place. I just wanted to be alone. 

 

When I got into the house, Stormy greeted me at the door. I pat her head and walked upstairs to my room. I closed the door behind Stormy and laid on my bed. I couldn’t feel the comforter, nor the fluffiness of my pillow. I stared at the pitbull pup. I wasn’t going to cry. No, this isn’t like me, and yet tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. I didn’t make a sound as warm tears strolled down my cheeks. Armin is getting married.

 

The next day, I walked to Ymir’s house. I had to tell her the news. When I got there, I knocked on her door. A second later, her mother answered.

“Hello, Jean,” her mother says, grinning wide. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah,” I say, beaming back. “Is Ymir here?”

“Yep, she’s right in her room with Christa.”

“Thank you.”

 

I walked in and headed towards her room. I opened the door, and I saw Ymir on top of Christa, the two of them making out.

“Oh my god,” I said in a monotone voice.

They pulled apart and looked at me. Ymir got off of Christa and they both sat up on the bed, Christa red in the face. 

 

“Welcome to mi casa,” Ymir said, smirking at me. Christa just pursed her lips and looked down in embarrassment. 

“Yeah, hi.” I walked over to them and sat next to Ymir, and then told them that Armin is back.

“Seriously?” Ymir nearly shouted. 

“And he’s getting married to Eren.”

“Oh my god,” Christa gasped. “I’m so sorry, Jean.”

“It’s fine,” I say, sighing. “I’ll get over it.”

“Fuck that guy,” Ymir cursed.

“It’s not his fault he’s in love.” I stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“To tell Connie.”

 

I walked out of the room and said goodbye to Ymir’s mom. I left the house and headed towards Connie’s. It was a good thing they lived close to one another. I knocked on Connie’s door, but there was no answer. I rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, the door opened, and I looked down to see one of Connie’s little sisters.

“Hi Jean!”

“Emma, you shouldn’t open the door without asking who it is.”

“But I sensed it was you!”

“I’m sure you did,” I say with a chuckle. “Is Connie here?”

“Nuh uh,” she said, shaking her head. “He went to the store.”

“Alright. Well, can you tell him to call me when he gets home?”

“Okay! Bye!”

“Bye, Emma.”

 

As I walked home, a motorcycle drove by in  flash. I turned my head around and watched the motorcycle that looked like Marco’s. I felt bad for snapping at him in the restaurant. I selfishly took my feelings out on him. I had to apologize. I continued on my journey home with the feeling of guilt, my favorite thing ever.

When I got home, I opened the door to see Wade and Marco sitting on the couch laughing. They heard me close the door, and when they looked at me, Marco dropped his smile and looked down at his mug. 

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Marco said he came here to talk to you, but you were out, so I let him in,” Wade explained.

“Oh,” I simply said.

“I guess this old man should go so I can let you kids talk,” Wade says getting up. “I’m gonna go have a smoke.” And with that, he left out the front door. 

 

I sat on the couch while Marco stayed put on the recliner. We stayed in silence for a while before I spoke up.   
“Well?” I quirked a brow.

“Oh, right, sorry,” he responds, snapping out of a trance. “I just wanted to apologize for last night. That was really insensitive of me.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” I told him. “You were just trying to be nice. I’m actually glad you told him that. I didn’t want to seem like a loner.” I laughed a bit.

“I saw how upset you were when he came with his fiance,” he said. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“Well, thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

 

There was an awkward silence after that. He drank his coffee and I just sat there. I watched him as he took a drink. He was really just being considerate of me. Marco really is a good guy.

“You don’t have work today?” I asked. 

“Ah, no, it’s Sunday.”

“Oh, right.”

The awkward silence was back.

“Are you done with your drink?”

“Oh, yes.”

I held out my hand and he gave me his cup. I walked it over to the sink and as I washed it out, I heard a phone ring. It wasn’t mine, but Marco’s. He answered in a professional way.

“Bott’s Flowers, how may I help you?”

I almost wanted to laugh. I never heard someone pick up a work call before.

 

I put the mug in the dish rack. A few seconds later, Marco hug up and walked into the kitchen.

“Work call?” I asked, leaning against the sink with my arms crossed. 

“Yeah,” he wore a grim expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“...it was Armin.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

When Marco told me it was Armin, he wore a grim expression and looked at me with pity. 

“Oh, cool.” I shrugged. 

“Cool…?” 

“Yeah, he probably needs flowers for his wedding.”

“Are you okay?” 

“Mm,” I hummed in response. Honestly, it didn’t hurt as bad as it did last night.

“Okay, then,” he said slowly with sadness in his eyes. 

“Don’t look at me like that.” I walked past him.

“Right, sorry. He’s going to call soon to discuss what kind of flowers he wants, so I should probably go.”

 

“Alright,” I said. I was okay with that. I didn’t want to be in the same room as someone who was on the phone with my engaged first love anyway. 

“I’ll see you later?” He asked.

“Why do you always ask me that? Of course we’re gonna see each other again.”

A huge smile spread on Marco’s face from ear to ear. “Great.”

Marco started walking backwards still smiling and bumped into a wall. I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t even chuckled.

 

A few days passed, and the one and only Armin showed up at my door. He was alone to my surprise. I was so used to seeing Eren by his side. 

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hi,” I responded simply. 

“Can I come in?”

I wanted to tell him no, but I kept that away and stepped aside for him to walk in. He came into the house and looked around. 

“Still looks the same as usual.”

“We don’t really do change.”

“I see.” He chuckled, and I had him sit down on the couch. 

 

“Want some coffee? Water?” I asked walking into the kitchen.  _ Please ask for water so I can pretend to trip and spill it all over you and see what you look like all wet. _

“Coffee is fine.”

_ Dammit. _

“So what’d you want?” I asked grabbing a mug and pouring coffee inside. 

“I wanted to know if you wanted to go to lunch with me, if your boyfriend is okay with it.”   
“What about Eren?” I walked back into the living room handing him his mug.

“What  _ about _ Eren?”

“Wouldn’t he be upset?”

“I don’t see why he would,” he says with a shrug. “He knows we’ve been friends since childhood.”

“Right.”

“So how about it?”

 

I had to think for a second. I was upset with him, but that’s not his fault. He was just living his life. Besides, I wanted to catch up with him. I wanted things to be normal again. What even is normal?

“Sure, why not.” I shrugged casually, but on the inside, I was actually pretty excited. 

“Great. Well, that’s all. I ought to get going. Eren and I are going to talk to the flower guy for our wedding.”

I wanted to tell him that Marco is their “flower guy”, but I wanted to leave that a surprise.

 

Armin left after we made plans for tomorrow at twelve o’clock to meet up at our favorite cafe. Ymir, Christa, Connie, Eren, Armin and I used to go there often. It was time for a nostalgic flashback. I went upstairs to my room after he left, and stared at myself in the body mirror. I crossed my arms staring at my figure. I was starting to get chubby. 

 

Tomorrow came, and I was getting ready. I looked in my closet for something decent to wear. I was thinking of wearing something I would normally wear like a band shirt and yet another pair of ripped jeans, but I found some regular jeans. I grabbed it from my dresser. Today was really going to be different. I put on a shirt and the jeans and then tied on my black boots. 

 

The cafe was actually pretty far away, and I didn’t feel like taking the subway, so I walked to Bott’s Flowers and stood outside the door, looking up at the sign before walking in. The chime went off. I haven’t been here since I first met Marco.

“Welcome!” I heard his voice shout from the back of the store. When he walked out to the front and saw me, he smiled.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” I looked around at the new material he had.

“You look great.”

“What?” My cheeks heated up, and then I remembered I was wearing regular jeans. “Oh, thanks.”

 

“So what brings you here?” He asked. I looked at the pink roses and gently touched the petals.

“What time is your lunch break?” I questioned, pulling out one of the roses from the bouquet. “And how much is one rose?”

“My lunch break is actually in five minutes, and if you want that flower, you can have it.”   
“Really? Thanks. Also, I need a ride to Cafe Madison. Do you mind?”

“No, not at all,” he says. “I didn’t know you had an interest in roses.”

“It’s not for me,” I explained. “It’s for Armin. We’ve got a little play-date today and I figured, well, why not be nice?”

“Pink rose,” he says, examining it. “Good choice.”

 

Five minutes passed, and he had two customers. We went outside to his motorcycle and got on. He didn’t have an extra helmet with him this time. He gave his helmet to me. I put it on and held onto him tight filled with excitement and butterflies in my stomach. When we got to the cafe, I noticed that grey clouds started gathering. He parked in the front and I took off the helmet. 

“Thanks for the ride,” I said.

“Not at all. Oh, here’s my number in case you need a ride home.’” Marco handed me his business card.

“Thanks.” I put it in my pocket.

 

Marco nodded his head in response and then put on his helmet and drove off. I watched as he left. I stood outside the cafe waiting for Armin with the rose in hand. I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited some more. So many minutes passed, and there was no sign of him showing up. It eventually started to rain. I ended up getting soaked. I know, why didn’t I go inside? Well, for one, you can’t be inside without buying something. Secondly, I felt like Armin was going to show up any second. But he didn’t.

  
It was now 1:12. An hour and twelve minutes late. I was wet from the rain, and again, felt heartbroken. Why is it that whenever Armin is in my life it brings me pain? Why is it that he’s the only one that gives me actual emotion? Why do I love him so much? I hated it. I wasn’t going to cry again, though. I sucked it up and pulled out my phone and Marco’s card.


	9. Chapter 9

I called Marco’s number. All I heard was the sound of the ringback tone. I hoped he would pick up, but he didn’t. I called again. This time, after a couple of rings, he answered. 

“Bott’s Flowers, how may I help you?”

Hearing the sound of his voice made me choke up. 

“Marco, it’s me,” I said with a cough. “I, um…” I drifted off.

“Jean?” He spoke up. 

“Can you come pick me up?” My voice shook. 

“I’ll be right there,” he said before hanging up.

 

I stood there in the rain waiting for Marco. Or was he going to ditch me, too? I laughed at my own joke. It died off, though. I felt myself frown. Eren was probably fucking Armin at this moment. Armin was probably planning his wedding with him instead of showing up. I hated this. 

 

Time passed, and I heard a motorcycle pull up. I looked up to see Marco walking fast towards me.

“Mar-” I tried saying his name, but he embraced me in his strong arms, cutting me off. I immediately hugged him back and nuzzled my face in his warm shoulder. A few seconds later, he pulled away and took off his jacket to give it to me. 

“It’s fine.” I pushed it away.

“Jean,” he says my name sternly. 

I looked up at him, and then put the jacket on.

 

We got on his motorcycle, but he didn’t have a helmet. I asked him where it was, and he told me he was in such a rush that he forgot it. I wanted to call him an idiot, but I didn’t. As we drove through the rain, I lifted my head to feel the droplets on my face. The wind blew through my hair, and I started to feel better. Being in the rain with Marco made me feel a lot better. This was exactly what I needed. The warmth of Marco’s jacket spread throughout my body as I held onto his torso tightly. When we got to his house, he parked in the driveway and we got off his bike. He grabbed onto my hand and led me into his house. 

 

“You can go ahead and drop your stuff by the couch. Stay there for a second,” he instructed. Doing as told, I took off my shoes and set down the rose on the sofa. A minute later, Marco came back with a white T-shirt and sweats.

“You can dry off in the bathroom and wear this if you want.”

I took the clothes. “Thank you,” I said. “Where’s your bathroom?”

“It’s upstairs to the right.”

 

I walked up the steps and went into the bathroom. I closed and locked the door behind me. I took off my wet clothes but kept my boxers on. I dried myself off with the towel that was on the rack, then put on the shirt and sweats. 

 

I walked out of the bathroom with my clothes and his jacket in hand. I walked into the living room to see Marco sitting on the couch in a new outfit. He was wearing his cookie monster pajamas and a blanket covering his lap. 

“Those again?” I laughed. 

Marco’s face turned bright pink. “I wore these so you would feel better. I didn’t like seeing you hurt, Jean.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay.” He went along with it with a kind smile. I sat down next to him on the sofa.

“What are we watching?” I asked, taking some of the blanket.

“Grey’s Anatomy.”

“Never watched it.”

“Really?” His brown eyes widened.

“Really, really.”

 

Marco grabbed the remote and changed it to the first episode. We were watching it on Netflix. Apparently, it was about doctors. Well, five interns named Meredith, Izzie, Cristina, George, and Alex. It was kind of interesting so far. By the time the third episode was on, I started to get tired, so I ended up resting my head on Marco’s chest. He flinched a little at first, but then he put his arm around me slowly. 

“I’m sorry, Jean.”

“For?”

“Armin. Do you want me to not help him with his wedding?”

“No, go ahead,” I told him. “It’d be good for business.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Alright.”

He sounded a little sad.

 

I then remembered the flower. I reached over and grabbed the rose and handed it to Marco.

“This is for you.”

“Really?” He quirked a brow smiling. He looked really sexy at that moment. 

“Yep.” I looked away. I couldn’t look directly at him. 

“Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”

We ended up watching shows on Netflix and drinking hot chocolate, snuggled in the blanket. It was a good night.

 

A month passed, and so did Armin and Eren’s wedding. It was beautiful. I had enough time to get over him and enjoy the wedding properly. Eren even carried Armin, and Christa cried tears of joy. I was honestly happy for Armin when the ceremony came. I don’t love him anymore. It took me a couple of heartbreaks for me to come to that point, but I did reach that goal. 

 

“And when he carried him, a lot of people cheered,” I explained to Marco, leaning against the counter in the flower shop. He couldn’t go because of work, so I had to tell him what the wedding was like. “I had a lot of fun.”

“I’m glad you did.” He no longer looked at me with pity, but a sense of pride. He was proud of me.

“And guess who caught the bouquet? Christa did!” 

“Oh, really?” He chuckled. “I guess that means her and Ymir will get married next. I’ll be more than happy to provide flowers for their wedding, too.”

 

Just then, the chime went off, signaling he had another customer. I walked away from the counter and headed towards the lilies. 

“Welcome,” he greeted the woman. 

“I need a bouquet of yellow roses, please, and how about your number?” She was a bold one. 

“M-My number?” Marco flustered. “Oh! You mean my business card.”

“Oh my god,” I whispered to myself and laughed a little. This guy was so dense. 

 

After ringing her up, she left with the roses and his business card. I walked back to the counter. 

“You’re ridiculous,” I said.

“I am?”

“Yes, you are. Anyway, we’re having a little gathering at my place at six tonight. You wanna come?”

“Who is going to be there?”   
“Just Armin, Eren, Connie, Sasha, Ymir, and Christa.”

“I’ll be there after I close the shop at 6:30.”

“Coolio,” I started walking backwards. “I’ll see you then.” 

With that, I left the shop.

 


	10. Chapter 10

At the little get together, we sat in the living room. Armin was snuggling against Eren’s chest while Ymir had her arm around Christa, and Connie and Sasha were together. I was now the seventh wheel. 

“Where’s Marco?” Eren asked, pretending to be all friendly with me. I knew Eren didn’t like me because he knew I loved Armin more than a friend. 

 

That’s when the doorbell rang, and I got up to answer the door. Before I could even open it, it swung open and smacked me in the face. My nose was throbbing and my eyes watered up as I looked up to see Marco and his friend Duke who was the one that smacked me in the face with the door. He had two bottles of Jack Daniel’s and shot glasses.

 

“Let’s get this party started!” Duke shouted, inviting himself into my home. Marco immediately came over to me. 

“Oh god, are you okay?” He tried touching my nose.

“I’m fine, but why is  _ he _ here?”

“I told him I was coming here and he decided to come along. I’m really sorry.”

I sighed. “At least he brought drinks.”

“Yeah, he really wants to get your friends ‘wasted’ as he says.”

“Great.”

 

I walked back into the living room as Marco followed and we saw Eren shaking hands with Duke. 

“I’m Eren, and this is my husband, Armin.”

“Oooh, gay guys. I get it.” Duke wiggled his eyebrows.

“Duke!” Marco shouted his name sternly. 

“It’s fine.” Armin laughed. 

 

“Everyone, this is Marco,” I introduced him to everybody. Connie was the first to come up and shake his hand, then Sasha, then Ymir and Christa. Armin and Eren already met him. 

“And this is his friend, Duke.”

“Hi Duke,” everyone said in unision.

“Alright, let’s get to drinking!” 

 

We ended up playing Questions. The game was simple. It was like playing truth or dare, except it was just truth. If you didn’t answer the question in three seconds or laughed, you had to take a shot.

 

“Okay, I’ll go first,” Duke announced. “Ymir, have you ever scissored with Christa?’ He grinned.

“Yes,” Ymir said right away, and Christa’s face turned bright pink. 

“Alright, your turn.”   
“Marco,” she says his name with a smirk. I felt bad for him. “Are you a virgin?”

“Yes,” he answered, turning red in the face.

Now I  _ really _ felt bad for him. 

“Still?” Duke laughed.

“I don’t see anything wrong with being a virgin,” I spoke up.

“Oh, that’s right. Jean’s still a virgin, too.” Connie snorted. 

“Yeah, and I’m proud.”   
“Thanks, Jean,” Marco said lowly as they laughed.

 

The game continued, and Marco asked Armin where him and Eren were having their honeymoon.

“Hawaii,” he answered. 

“Alright, your turn to ask.” 

“Jean.”

“Hit me with your best shot.” I smirked. 

“Are you and Marco really dating?” 

I hesitated for a second before saying no.

“I thought so.”

“How’d you know?” Marco asked. 

“Jean isn’t the type to date. I figured he’d always end up alone, no offense.”

 

“I appreciate that.” I rolled my eyes, smiling. It was my turn to ask. “Eren, when did you first know you fell in love with Armin?” 

“When we had our first dance at our school’s dance,” he explained with a loving look in his eyes. That answered my question. He really does love Armin. 

“This one’s comin’ right back at you, Jean,” he said with a smirk. “Out of all the years you’ve known Armin, did you ever have a crush on him?”

 

My heart dropped as everyone looked my way. I didn’t know what to do. I could hear my own heart pound in my ears and palms began to sweat. Before I knew it, my three seconds were up.

“Time’s up!” Duke shouted. “Take a shot!” 

Doing as told, I lifted my shot glass with a shaky hand and took a gulp. I could feel Armin’s eyes on me. I felt like I couldn’t breath. He finally looked away from me, and I exhaled through my nose, finally able to live again.

 

Time passed and we continued to drink and drink. I took too many shots and got drunk. Everyone but Christa and Armin ended up getting wasted. 

“Christa,” Ymir slurred. 

“Yes, Ymir?” Christa giggled. 

“I’m drunk and I love you.”   
“I’m sober and I love you.”

They started making out.  _ I want something like that _ , my drunk self thought. I wished I could do that with Marco.

 

“Marco,” I said, turning to him, my head spinning and my body feeling warm and cozy. “I think you’re really fucking hot.” 

“W-What?” His eyes widened as his face turned red. Either he was embarrassed or drunk. Maybe both, but all I knew was that I was far gone.

“I want you to kiss me.” I leaned into him.

He scooted back.

“Jean, wait!” He pleaded. 

“Kiss me,” I slurred. All of the sudden, I felt nauseous. “Uh-oh.”

“‘Uh-oh?’”

“I don’t feel so good.”

 

“Oh no,” he said and grabbed me by the hand. “Come on.” Marco led me to the bathroom and lifted the toilet seat. I put my head down and threw up. Marco patted my back as I continuously vomited in my toilet. I was too drunk to feel embarrassed. I had no idea what happened after that.

 

It was the next morning, and I felt the comfort of my bed. The coolness of my sheets was like heaven to me. I felt around for my body pillow, and felt something warm and bare. I figured I was dreaming of a hunk, so I scooted over and wrapped my leg around his and snuggled my head under his neck. I love dreams like this. They make me feel less alone. Suddenly, I heard him grunt and felt the vibrations from his chest. 

“Jean?” The man spoke. 

I recognize that soft voice anywhere. 

I opened my eyes and looked up to see a topless Marco. 

“Marco?!” I shouted. Both of our eyes rounded in shock. We immediately moved away from each other, speechless. I could only make awkward, stunned noises.

 

I then realized that I was only wearing my boxers, completely shirtless. Marco was also wearing nothing but blue boxer briefs. His man junk was  _ huge _ . He was totally shredded, too. I couldn’t help but stare. It was like a car accident. You just can’t look away. Marco grabbed the blankets and covered himself up.

“Hey!” I grabbed them back and hid the bottom part of my body. 

“Sorry!” He covered his eyes with his hands. 

“We didn’t…?!”

“N-No! I don’t remember doing that!”

“Me neither!” 

 

“Jean!” Wade’s voice called from downstairs, and Marco and I shot our heads to the door hearing footsteps come up the stairs. We looked back at each other, and hurried to the closet. I pushed him in, closed the door, hid his clothes under my bed, and put on some pajama bottoms. The door opened and in walked Wade with a mug in his hand.

“Coffee?” He handed me the cup.

“Yeah, sure.” I tried to seem casual. 

“I’m making breakfast. I’ll call you when it’s done,” he said before leaving my bedroom. I closed and locked the door behind him, then went to the closet to get Marco out.

 

“Put your clothes on,” I half shouted, half whispered. He grabbed his jeans and shirt and put them on a little too quickly to where he almost fell. 

“You idiot,” I said. “Stay here until breakfast is over. I’ll tell you when he leaves.”

Instead of saying anything, Marco nodded his head in agreement. I locked the door before I left and walked downstairs. Stormy greeted me at the end of the staircase with her bright blue eyes and wagging tail. 

 

I sat and ate breakfast with Wade, feeling anxious. What was he doing right now? He better not be looking through my stuff, but then again, he isn’t the type to do so. I chowed down my food in a hurry. Wade seemed to notice my odd behavior. 

“What is your deal?” He asked quirking a brow. 

“Nothing,” I said. “You done?”   
“I guess?” He handed me his plate which I took and washed in the sink.

“You ought to head to work now,” I told him. “It’s getting late.”   
“Ah, damn,” he says looking at his watch. “It is.”

Wade hurried to the front door and told me that he’d say hello to Ricky, his co-worker, for me. 

“Thanks.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.”

 

After I watched him leave the driveway, I ran upstairs to my room. Stormy followed. I opened the door to see Marco sitting on my bed looking through my sketchbook. I guess he is the type to snoop around. 

“You’re a very good artist,” he compliments me as he continued looking through the sketches, and suddenly, his eyes widen. “Is this me?”

I snatch the sketchbook away from him. “Stop that.”

Suddenly, Stormy started sniffing Marco’s leg and started humping it. 

“Stormy, no!” I grabbed her and put her outside of the room, telling her to go on. 

“I think she might like me,” Marco says, and I rolled my eyes. His jokes were as awful as ever. 

“Alright, you gotta get out of here,” I told him, folding my arms.

“Right,” he said leaving the room, but stopped in his tracks and turned his head around to look at me. “Listen, if we really did do something...I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too. I’m sure you wouldn’t want some loser taking your virginity,” I joked. 

“I wouldn’t mind,” he said, and heat rose to my face. What the hell was that supposed to mean? 

Without saying anything else, Marco left the house.


	11. Chapter 11

 

A while has passed since the little get together, as it turns out, Marco and I didn’t do the do. After we both passed out, Duke and Ymir stripped us of our clothing and put us in my bed.Thanks to them, I almost got in trouble, but lucky for me, Wade didn’t notice he was there in the first place.

 

“So I need your help with something,” I said, leaning against the counter in Bott’s Flowers. I found myself going there often when I don’t have classes.

“With?” He questioned putting money in the register. 

“As you know, I’m majoring in art, and we need a model for our class.”

“Yes, and?”

Was this guy  _ that _ dense?

“The first person to bring in someone gets extra credit.”

“I’d be more than happy to help you find someone, Jean.”

“Marco, no,” I said, furrowing my brows. “I want  _ you _ to be the model.”

 

Marco tilted his head and squinted his eyes in confusion, then finally understood. “Me? Why me?”

“Do you have mirrors? You’re gorgeous.”

“You think I’m gorgeous?” He ran his fingers through his hair sheepishly. 

“Yes, and your customers think so, too. Come on, please be our model?”

Marco looked at the floor, deeply considering it. It took him a few seconds to give in. 

“Alright. How bad could it be?”

Little did he know, we needed a nude model.

 

When Monday came, Marco drove us to school on his bike, and once again, people stared. I could hear girls whisper about how hot Marco is. Too bad he’s oblivious to it, and gay. He probably could have gotten any girl he wanted.

 

We walked to my classroom, and it felt weird having Marco on campus like this. He opened the door for me, and I walked in having him follow behind. There aren’t that many guys in my class. Just me and a few other dudes. The rest are girls.

 

“Mrs. Winston, I have our model,” I said, presenting Marco to my art teacher. When she turned around, her brown eyes widened and she had to move her head back to get a full view of Marco. 

“Good job, Jean,” she says, acknowledging my good work. “What’s your name, young man?”

“Marco,” he introduces himself, holding out his hand. “Marco Bott.”

“A pleasure, Mr. Bott,” she says, shaking his hand firmly. “Well, I’ll just have you go behind that shower curtain and take your clothes off.”

“I...I’m sorry?”

“Well, we need a nude model.”

Marco looked back at me with surprise, and I just stared back. I felt super bad now. He looked back at Mrs. Winston.

“Of course.” He faked a smile, and then went behind the curtain with the white sheet she gave him. 

 

After a minute or so, Marco came out with the sheet wrapped around his waist, and I felt my ears go hot. He was really well built. The girls seemed to notice, too. They were all smiles and giggles. Meanwhile, Marco’s face was red and he looked like a kicked puppy.

 

“Go ahead and lay on that table, Mr. Bott,” Mrs. Winston instructed. Doing as told, Marco awkwardly got on the table and posed like we were going to draw him like one of our French girls, which we actually were. 

“Start sketching,” Mrs. Winston said, and we did. I started off with his torso, and made my way down to his happy trail. 

 

I then went down and skipped the sheet, which is something we usually did with nude models because we draw the private parts when the model takes off the sheet. I drew the legs perfectly. Then came the hard part. The head. I sketched a circle first, then the face. The hair was the easier part. I’ve always noticed how perfect Marco is, but today I got to appreciate it a little bit more. 

 

“Now, students,” Mrs. Winston says, “since Mr. Bott is uncomfortable taking off the sheet, as he explained to me,  _ Jean _ ,” she gave me a look, “be imaginative with his lower region.” 

As she said this, Marco’s face burned red. We all started to sketch. I have to admit, I felt a little embarrassed drawing it, but hey, it was a class and strictly art. I happened to glance at the girl next to me to see how she drew it, and it was way too big. I stifled a laugh, and Marco bit his lip still blushing.

 

Once we were finished, Mrs. Winston walked behind all of us to see what we’ve done. When she came past mine, I heard her hum.

“Impressive, Jean. This may be your best work yet.”

“May I see?” Marco asked from the table.

“Sure,” I answered. 

He wrapped the sheet tightly around his waist and walked over to me. He stood so close behind me that I could smell his cologne. It smelled like vanilla. My ears burned.

 

When class was over, I walked Marco back to his motorcycle in the front. I thanked him once more for being our model, and apologized for not telling him about the nude part. 

“It’s fine,” he says. “I kind of had fun doing it. Also, I liked your sketch.”

“You’re just saying that because it was a sketch of  _ you _ .” I smirked.

“Not true,” he said, shaking his head and then got on his bike. “You’ve got talent.”   
Marco then put on his helmet and waved goodbye to me. I waved back and watched him leave, my chest feeling odd.

 

After school was over, I got on the bus. It had been a while since I’ve last been on one. They kind of give me anxiety, but Ymir and Christa were with me. They held hands. Once again, I was third wheeling. 

 

We walked around a shopping district for a while, checking out the things we couldn’t buy. We went to bookstores, looking at mystery novels. We went to PetSmart looking at the chinchillas, then went to Foot Locker to see the shoes that were expensive as hell. 

 

We walked to Connie’s house, and on our way there, my phone vibrated. I pulled out my phone and looked to see it was a text from Marco. I smiled unintentionally. 

“Who sent you nudes?” Ymir nudged me with her elbow.

“No one.” I showed her my phone. 

“Marco, huh? You crushing on that guy now that you found out he’s gay?”

 

“No,” I say, rolling my eyes. “He sent me one of those chain letters where you have to send the message to five other people if you consider them your friend. How can I crush on  _ that _ ?”

“Rude, much?” 

Just then, my phone started ringing, and up came a photo of Marco in his apron fixing lilies at the flower shop. My heart leaped when I saw that he was calling.

“Wipe that grin off your face and answer already!” Christa told me. 

“Yeah, yeah,” I say, waving her off and answered the phone. “Hello?”

 

“Hello?” His voice said from the other line. “Jean?” I hadn’t heard his voice over the phone in a while. 

“Jean speaking.”   
“Jean speaking,” Ymir and Christa mocked. I flipped them off. 

“I just got a new scary movie and I was wondering if you would like to come over tonight and watch it with me.”

“Popcorn?”   
“Of course.”   
“I love you so much right now.”

I heard him cough on the other side of the line. “So I was thinking seven tonight? I get off of work at 6:30 again, so…”

“Alright. Seven it is.”

“Great. See you then. Bye.”

“Later.”

 

“Oh so you love him now, huh?” Ymir cackled. I faked laughter and walked a little faster. 

“You’re dumb,” I joked.

“But you’re not denying it.”

“This is me denying it: I don’t love him nor am I crushing on him.”

“Right,” Christa said sarcastically. 

 

It was six o’clock and I took a shower to get ready for movie night with Marco. I got dressed in a NASA shirt and ripped jeans with my black combat boots. I waited for seven o’clock to come, and ran to his door because it rained. 

 

I knocked on his door, and a few seconds later, Marco answered. He was wearing a brown hoodie and a pair of black sweats. I’ve never seen him dress so casually before. He usually wore button ups and good trousers, as Wade calls them. 

“Hey,” he greeted with a welcomely smile. “Come inside.”

I walked in and took off my boots. 

“You can go ahead and sit on the couch,” he said walking into the kitchen. “I was just making some popcorn and hot chocolate.”

“You sure do know how to plan a movie night.” I plopped myself down on his sofa.

“Thanks.”

 

I heard the microwave go off, and a minute later, Marco came back with a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a mug in the other which he handed to me and set the bowl down on the coffee table. 

“I’ll be right back,” he told me heading back into the kitchen, and then came back with another mug for himself. 

“Let’s get this movie started.” I grinned. 

“Alright, alright.” Marco went over to the DVD player and then put in the movie.

 

As the movie started, Marco sat back down next to me with his mug of hot chocolate. The movie started off with a woman and her son driving to their home, and as time passed, it got more interesting. The boy found a book called  _ Babadook _ . It was a creepy one. We devoured our popcorn in seconds, but still had some hot chocolate in our cups.

 

Although the drink did warm me up a bit, I was still cold and even shivered a bit. Marco seemed to notice. 

“Are you cold?” He asked setting down the mug on the table. 

“A bit,” I say rubbing my arm. 

“Here.” He started taking off his hoodie, and I saw that he wore an extremely tight white shirt underneath. I put on the hoodie and snuggled myself in it. It was a little big on me.

 

Eventually, the Babadook from the book came to life and started to haunt the family. The noise it made was creepy.

“Babadook...babadook.” The noise from the TV gave me goosebumps. I turned my head slightly to see Marco clinging to the couch pillow for dear life. I wanted one too, but I just held my knees close to my chest. 

 

At the end, the woman was shouting and screaming at the Babadook. The walls cracked, and mirrors and windows broke as she yelled. Suddenly, everything stopped. The figure of the Babadook came closer to the screen, and then fell, making moaning sounds. The woman started walking towards it.

“Mommy, don’t!” The little boy pleaded, but she didn’t listen, and continued to make her way to the Babadook that laid on the floor. She touched its top hat, and that’s when the screen went blank. The credits started to roll.

 

I looked at Marco, and he looked at me. I could see the fear in his eyes. All of the sudden, we heard a noise in the house. Without a second to waste, we both ran out the house and into the rain. We both panted and my heart was beating harshly in my chest. We then looked at each other, and smiled. We laughed. 

“Oh, man!” He said between chuckles. 

We cracked up laughing at each other in the rain. After we were done, we took a breather. 

“Alright,” Marco says running his fingers through his wet hair. “Let’s get back inside before we get sick.”

 

And that’s exactly what we did. As Marco walked in, he turned on the living room lights and we stood in the living room, dripping wet. 

“That was a good movie.” I sighed happily.

“Yeah, it was.”

Just then, I got a text from Wade. I pulled it out of my pants pocket and read it. He was staying at work for the night again. 

“Something wrong?” Marco asked. 

“Oh, it’s nothing,” I say. “Wade is just working overnight.”

“Oh,” Marco simply said, and then pondered a thought. “How about you stay the night here? I’d hate to sleep alone after watching a scary movie.” He chuckled. 

“Same here. I’ll tell Wade then.”

“Sure thing. I’ll get you some dry clothes to wear, unless you want to walk to your house and get some pajamas?”

“No way in hell. It’s freezing outside.”

“Alright.” He smiled wide.

 

I then texted back to Wade that I was spending the night at Marco’s place. He responded with an “OK.”

“He said it’s fine,” I told Marco putting away my phone.

“Cool,” he said lowly, trying to seem cool himself as though he weren’t too excited. 

 

Marco gave me a T-shirt and black sweats, just like last time. I got dressed in his bathroom and walked back into the living room. He took my clothes and his and put them in the dryer, and then came back into the living room. We decided to watch romcoms that had rid our fear from the horror movie. I watched Marco as he slowly fell asleep on the floor in the sleeping bag next to me. 

 

He eventually knocked out, so I turned off the TV and snuggled myself in the sleeping bag he gave to me. I gazed at Marco’s sleeping face and smiled to myself. That was the last thing I saw before falling asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

“Jean, what happened?!” Marco asked, shocked to see that I was completely beat up. One may wonder how I got in this situation. It was no happy beginning. It was a Sunday morning and I was on my way to Connie’s house when all of the sudden I see him getting his ass kicked by three big dudes. Of course, I attempted to stop them, but they didn’t like that too much, so they kicked both of our asses until someone threatened to call the police. 

 

I couldn’t go home to Wade like this or else he’d chew me out about it, so I decided to go to Marco’s.

“Is it that bad?” I questioned. 

“Hurry, come inside.” He stepped aside for me to walk in. 

I sat on the sofa and touched my eye. It was throbbing and warm. Marco went into the bathroom to grab something.

“Do you have a hand mirror or something?” I asked loud enough for him to hear. 

“Give me a second,” he called back.

 

He later came back into the living room with a first aid kit and a mirror. I took the mirror from him and looked at myself. I had a black eye and scratches on my face with dried blood on my nostrils and down my chin. I had to admit, I looked pretty cool.

 

Marco opened the first aid kit and pulled out a peroxide wipe, then gently wiped my face with it. He went from the right cheek to the left, and then stood up to walk into the kitchen. I let out a deep sigh, feeling my heart throb. His face was so close. I bit my lip.

 

He came back with an icepack and put it on my eye gingerly. I stared into his light brown eyes. His orbs were beautiful. 

“It’s cold,” I said quietly. 

“I know,” he responded, his alluring lips moving slowly. I felt like I was drunk again.

 

I took over on holding the icepack on my eye as Marco rolled up my pant leg to see if I was injured there, too. I was. My knees were all busted. 

“I can’t believe you got in a fight.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

We wiped my knees with the peroxide and put gauzes on them. 

“Thanks for this.” I gratefully meant it. 

“It’s no problem,” he says, closing the first aid kit. “My little brother used to hurt himself like this all the time.”

“Well, he is a boy.”

He chuckled. “Yes, I guess that’s true. You should probably head home. Your dad must be worried about you.”

 

“I doubt Wade is worried. He thinks I’m with Connie right now,” I say, “but you’re right. I probably should head home. I can’t hide like this forever.”

“Good luck,” he said. 

“Thanks,” I say, heading towards the door, but then stopped before grabbing the doorknob. “You gonna kiss my ouchies so they go bye-bye?” I said sarcastically. 

Marco walked over to me, and then stopped to lean in and kiss near my eye. I felt heat rush to my cheeks. I opened my mouth to say something, but was left speechless. I closed my mouth and walked out the door.

 

I walked back to my house, blushing all the way home. I was just joking. Why the hell would he do that? What’s that guy’s deal? 

“Wade, I’m home,” I announced opening the door. “And I got my ass kicked.”

“Again?” Wade yelled from the kitchen. “Get in here, now!” 

 

I fearfully walked into the other room where Wade waited for me with his arms crossed and his face made into a scowl. 

“What did I tell you about getting into fights?” His question sounded more like a demand. 

“Not to do it,” I answered, looking dead into his pale blue eyes.

“That’s right. Next time you get into some trouble, you pull out your phone and threaten to call the police.”

“What if they don’t stop?”

“Then you really do call the cops.”

“But then it’s going to be too late.”

 

“So then get help from a bigger person, I don’t care. I just don’t want you getting hurt again!” He roared.

“Alright.” I looked away from him. 

“Now answer me this,” he says, lowering his voice and looking me up and down. “Who bandaged you up like this?”

“Marco,” I simply said. 

“Marco?” He raised his brows, wrinkles appearing on his forehead. “Well that’s very sweet of him.” He cracked a grin.

I should bring up Marco more often whenever Wade is mad at me. 

“Did he kiss your booboos, too?” 

Even my so-called father was teasing me about him. It’s not love. It’s definitely not love.

 

 

Time passed, and it was now summer. Spring was no longer. It was a little upsetting, but I guess I’d have to get used to the hot weather. I laid in my bed. It was summer break, and a new year of college was a few months away. It’s almost been a year since I met Marco who gave me a lot of eventful, fun times. He’s helped me a lot and gave me a lot of feelings, especially fulfillment. All I needed was another friend. 

 

Speaking of Marco, we were going to a wedding together. He got a plus one invitation, and he decided to invite me. He said he was going to invite Duke, but he didn’t want him to get too drunk and cause a ruckus. I got permission from Wade, and the only reason why he wanted me to go was because he wanted something to happen between Marco and I, but we’re too close as friends. 

 

His mother was going to pick us up from his place, so after putting on my only formal outfit and combing my hair, I walked to Marco’s house and knocked on his door. He answered within a second.

“Hey,” he greeted with a smile, and then looked me up and down. His smile got wider. “You look great.”

“Thanks. So do you.”

He wore a blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows with a vest over it as well as dress pants. He wore dress shoes, too.

“My mom should be here…” he looked at his wristwatch, and just then, a green van pulled up in the driveway. “...right now.”

 

A woman with long black hair and tan skin stepped out. She had freckles like Marco, and so did the young boy who hopped out of the front seat. When his mother and little brother walked closer, I saw that her brown eyes got lighter and lighter. 

“Hello,” she greeted with a kind smile similar to Marco’s. “You must be Jean.”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” I held out my hand trying to be polite. 

“Likewise.”

 

“And you’re Marco’s younger brother, right?” I spoke to the boy. He was actually pretty tall for a ten year old. 

“Are you dating my brother?” He asked.

Before I could say anything, Marco pinched his arm. 

“Don’t pretend to act dumb, Donatello.” His face turned red.

“It’s okay,” I told him, holding out my hand to Donatello. “I’m Jean.”

“I’m Donny.” His brown eyes shined bright like a kid’s should have.

 

“Well, shall we get going?” Marco’s mother squeezed her hands together. I nodded my head in response. 

We got into the van, and inside, there were bags of chips and Arizona iced teas. The perfect combo. 

“Your mom is awesome,” I told Marco as we sat in the back. 

“You think so?” He says. 

“I know so. She knows what’s up.”

I heard his mom laugh from the driver’s seat. “Thank you, Jean, that’s very flattering.”

 

We started driving off, and when I asked Mrs. Bott if I could have some of the chips, she told me I could if I called her Gabriella. She was a really cool mom. Sometimes I wondered if my mom would have been like this. For the two hour drive, we played games like I Spy and Twenty Questions. She asked me how I met Marco. 

“Well, I met him at his flower shop,” I explained. “I got hurt, so he helped me out and we became neighbors and good friends.”

“Interesting,” she says.

 

When we reached the place for the ceremony, Marco and I got out the van and walked to our seats. It was an outdoor wedding. It was a little warm with a nice breeze. The perfect weather to have a wedding. We arrived just in time, because when we got there, everyone was told to sit it in their seats. 

 

As they said their vows, I listened attentively. It was really beautiful. I wasn’t the type for romance, so that’s really saying something. When they were done and they sucked each other’s faces, he carried her down the aisle as everyone cheered. 

 

Afterwards, everyone gathered together and started talking to each other. I stood next to Marco the whole time, feeling awkward and out of place. Two men walked our way and started speaking Italian to Marco. One of them exclaimed something that I couldn’t understand, giving him a big hug. Marco responded in Italian, and I had to admit, it was a bit of a turn on to hear him speak another language. 

 

The other man looked at me and said something to Marco in Italian. I only understood one word.  _ Bello _ . He called me handsome, so I smiled a bit. 

“Jean, these are my uncles Alfonso and Raffaello.”

“Nice to meet you, Jean.” The one that hugged Marco, who I assume was Alfonso, had a thick accent. He took my hand and shook it.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” I responded. Just then, Raffaello came up to me and put a hand on my shoulder firmly. He stared deep into my eyes, and I stared back without looking away, holding my breath. Suddenly, he cracked a grin, and then said something I couldn’t understand at all. 

“What did he say?” I looked at Marco.

“N-Nothing,” he stammered. 

“Uncle Alfonso,” I say, looking at him, “can you translate, please?” 

“He just said our little nephew here found a good one! You two will have a beautiful wedding.”   
“Wedding?” Marco and I both said in unison.

 

Marco then tried telling them something in Italian frantically, all the while blushing. They both said, “ _ Solo amici! Solo amici! _ ” 

“That’s enough from you two,” Gabriella laughs coming toward us. “Leave them alone!”

The two uncles laughed as they walked away from us with their hands up.

 

I sat at our table with Marco. We talked about his family as music played in the back. Most of the music was Italian. I was getting used to the language. 

“I didn’t know you spoke Italian,” I said.

“I never told you?” Marco smiles.

“Nope. Also, does everyone in your family know that you’re, y’know, gay?” 

“Pretty much.”

“And they accept that, huh?”

“I’m lucky to have a very loving and understanding family.”

I was lucky, too. I was happy for the both of us.

 

Just then, a slow song came on. Gabriella danced with Uncle Raffaello, and Donatello was with his cousins by the lake. Marco then stood in front of me and held out his hand.

“Will you dance with me?” He asked.

 

I looked at his hand, then back up at his eyes. I took it, and he led me to the dance floor. We intertwined fingers, and he put his hand on my hip and I put mine on his shoulder. I tried not to laugh. 

“I don’t know how to dance,” I warned him with a chuckle.

“Just follow what I do,” he said quietly with a tender smile. Doing as told, I let him lead the way. We swayed back and forth, slow dancing to the beautiful music. I couldn’t help but look at his amazing, sparkling brown eyes. I felt safe. I felt happy. I felt like I was at home with him. He was the one that fulfilled my loneliness. He was the one I finally connected with. Now I understood how Eren felt when he first fell in love with Armin at the school’s dance. This night was perfect, and I didn’t want to let it go. 


	13. Chapter 13

“Would you mind if we stopped somewhere, Jean?” Gabriella asked, looking at me from the rear view mirror. 

“I don’t mind,” I said. I looked at Marco, and his expression turned from happy to gloomy. He stared at his knees with a long face. 

“Are you okay?” I asked. 

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” He faked a smile. He didn’t seem like wanted to talk about it, so I left it at that.

 

We eventually reached a cemetery, and I had a sinking feeling of who we were going to visit. We got out the van, and walked to a grave that read “Romeo Bott.”

“This is my husband, Romeo,” Gabriella says with a smile. “He passed away seven years ago.” 

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” I apologized, feeling my heart breaking for them. 

“It’s okay,” she said touching my arm, and then looked at the grave. “We just came to say hello, sweetie. Your nephew just got married. I know you’re happy for him.”

“We had fun, dad,” said Donatello. Marco said nothing.

 

“We’ll meet you in the car,” Gabriella told us, heading back to the van with Donatello. 

“Should I go, too?” I asked.

“No, it’s okay,” Marco said lowly. “You can stay.”

I stayed by his side looking down at the grave. I bet Romeo was a good guy. I wanted to say that, but I kept my mouth shut. 

“Dad,” he started, “this is Jean. He’s my friend. I made lots of new friends, but I think you’ll like this one the most. He’s wonderful, dad.”

I wanted to smile at his words, but this was no time to get all feely.

 

“Duke is okay. He’s still kind of a  _ stronzino _ , though.” Marco laughed. Just then, his eyes got watery, and a tear trailed down his cheek. “I miss you, dad.” He then brought a hand to his mouth and sobbed silently. I couldn’t hold it. I hugged him, and held him tightly in my arms. Marco hugged me back, burying his head into my shoulder and quietly cried. We both held each other close, and my heart just broke for him. We stayed like that until he gathered himself. 

We then went back to the van and got in the back seats. Without saying a word, he looked out the window, staring at the passing scenery. His brown eyes were filled with no emotion at all. It made me sad seeing him in such a state. 

 

I held his hand and he looked at me with an emotion I couldn’t read. He held my hand back and squeezed it. I squeezed back. Some time passed, and eventually we both began to grow tired. He rested his head on my shoulder, and I rested my head on his. We both fell asleep soundly, just like that. 

 

When we reached the house, it was already eight o’clock. I woke up as we pulled into the driveway, and somehow, my head ended up on Marco’s lap. I immediately got up, feeling super embarrassed. 

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. 

“It’s okay.” He gave a small smile. I could tell he was healing from the moment at the cemetery. Marco and I got out of the van.

 

“Thank you very much for allowing me to come,” I said to Gabriella. “I had a blast.”

“I’m glad you had fun,” she responded with a tender look as Donatello was snoring in the front seat. “Goodnight you two.”

“Goodnight,” we both said at the same time. Gabriella drove off. When the van was distanced, Marco and I looked at each other.

“I guess I should walk you to your door,” he said. 

“You don’t have to.”

“Let me.” He smiled.

I looked down at the sidewalk, then at my front door. “Alright.”

 

Marco and I walked to my door, not walking on the grass, because Wade hates it when people do that. I wanted that moment to last a little longer because I knew when I got inside the house I would just feel lonely again. It felt as though I was never going to see him again. But I knew that was just me being ridiculous. 

“I’ll see you later, Jean,” he said. 

“Yeah.” I stood there. In fact, we both stood there. What were we waiting for? What was  _ I _ waiting for?

“Goodnight,” he cooed.

“Goodnight,” I responded before walking into the house.

 

I closed the door behind me, and slid down on my ass. I hugged my knees hiding my face, recalling how I felt when we slow danced. It made my chest itch. Just then, I heard a knock. I immediately got up and opened the door. It was Wade. I grunted. 

“What?” He quirked a brow. “I forgot my keys.”

 

I stepped aside so Wade could walk in, and I walked upstairs to my room, grumbling to myself. 

“Where are you going?” He asked. “I’m about to make dinner.”

“I had a long day,” I told him. “I’m going to bed.”

I closed my door and locked it, and then took off my clothes to put on some pajamas. I only had a wife beater and basketball shorts on. It was too hot for pajama pants. Stormy scratched on the other side of the door, so I opened it to let her in. She trotted in and hopped on my bed and laid down.

 

“I wish I knew what it was like being a dog,” I said falling onto my bed next to Stormy. She rubbed her face all over my pillow. I did the same. I thought if I acted like a dog I would become a dog. Dogs don’t have to worry about liking Marco. 

 

One Monday morning, I decided to visit Marco at his job during his lunch hour, so I left my house pretty early at ten o’clock. When I walked into the shop, the chime jingled, but there was someone already there. A person was at the counter talking to Marco that wasn’t me. It was a girl. 

“Really?” She laughed loudly, twirling her bleached blonde hair. 

I stayed at the door.

“Yes,” Marco responded with a smile, completely ignoring my presence.

“Well, I should let you get back to work.”   
“Alright. Goodbye.” Marco waved his hand as she walked past me and out the door. The chime went off.

 

“Oh, hey, Jean.” He finally noticed that I was standing there. I walked over to the counter and rested my elbow on it. 

“So who was that?” I asked, and chewed on the inside of my mouth. 

“Angie,” he said with a wide smile as though he were crushing on her. I wonder if Marco ever has that look on his face when he talks about me? “She’s Duke’s girlfriend.”

“Oh, cool.” I tried not to seem too relieved. 

“She was just telling me about Duke’s party, and I was wondering if you’d like to come with me?”

I hesitated. I don’t want to go to a party, especially if it’s Duke’s. His kind was something I tried to avoid most of my life. But Marco was going to be there.

“Sure.”

 

I immediately regretted saying that as soon as I stepped into Duke’s house. People were everywhere and loud, unfamiliar music played. It shook the house. I stayed close to Marco, because he seemed to know what he was doing. My guess was that Duke dragged him to a bunch of parties like this before so he got pretty used to it. I wasn’t. 

 

We walked into the living room and there sat a group of people in a circle with an empty bottle in the middle. 

“Marco! Jean!” Duke turned his head around and shouted our names, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and stare. 

“Hey, Jean!” Angie waved her hand. “Sit next to me!”

I walked past the people and scooted next to her as Marco sat next to Duke.

 

We started a game of spin the bottle, and a girl and another girl were chosen to go in the closet for five minutes. Once their time was up, they came out with their hair all messed up. Next up was Angie’s turn. She spun the bottle, and of course, it just had to land on Marco. His eyes rounded. Angie walked over to him and grabbed his hand, leading him to the closet and closing the door with a wink back at me. 

 

It was the longest five minutes of my life. I had wondered what they were doing in there. Normally, it would come and go through my mind within an instant, but this just stuck, and boy did it hurt. What felt like years later, their time was up, and Angie walked out with her hands in the air. 

“Woo!” She shouted. Marco came out right behind her with a hickey on his neck and running his fingers through his hair.

“Nothing happened,” he whispered as he walked past me, but the hickey on his neck said otherwise. What was he telling me this for, anyway?

 

Angie sat next to me with a smile on her face, but dropped it as soon as everyone looked away. 

“What happened?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she says bitterly. “Absolutely nothing. All I did was bite his neck and he just pushed me away.”

I laughed a little. Yeah, that sounds like Marco. He’s too shy to go through with something like that. Next was my turn. I spun the bottle, and it landed on some random girl with brown hair tied in a high ponytail. 

 

We walked into the closet together, and as soon as the door closed, she started kissing and sucking my neck. It was possibly the most uncomfortable thing I have ever felt. 

“You know,” she says, “you’re really cute.”

“Thanks.” I rolled my eyes. She kept nibbling my ear and saying things for a good three minutes until she pulled away and tried kissing me on the lips. Before she could, the door suddenly opened. Marco was standing there.

“Five minutes is up,” he said looking away from us. 

The girl walked out of the closet and giggled with a bunch of her friends. 

 

We sat back in the circle, but sat next to each other this time. As Duke spun the bottle, I got a text from Eren that read I had to get to their apartment quick, because there’s news they had to tell me. I showed it to Marco. He read it, and then leaned over to Duke to tell him we gotta go. 

“Right now?” Duke complained. 

“It’s an emergency.”

“Fine. Go.” He waved his hand at us. 

Marco and I both stood up and hurriedly left the house and got on his bike. I put on the helmet and told him where they live. We quickly drove to their place.

 

When we got there, I knocked on the door like I was the police, hoping that everything was okay. A second later, the door opened, and Connie was standing there. 

“What the hell?” I furrowed my brows in confusion. 

“Welcome to the club,” he said, letting us in. 

“I’m glad you brought Marco, too,” Armin said. “Well, now that everyone’s here…” he drifted off, looking at Eren. “We’re going to have a kid.”

 

“Armin, you’re pregnant?!” Connie shouted, and we all shot our heads at him, then he realized something very important. “Oh.”

“We’re adopting.” Armin chuckled.

“Oh my gosh!” Christa squealed. “Congratulations!” She ran over to Armin and hugged him. Connie walked over to Eren and high-fived him. Marco and I looked at each other with smiles on our faces. I was really happy for them. I walked over to Armin.

“Congrats, Armin.” I grinned.

“Thanks.”

“So did you guys pick out any names?” Marco asked them both. Armin and Eren looked at each other. 

 

“Well,” Armin began, “we decided to adopt a girl, and her name is April. April Jaeger.”

“Like April O'Neil!” Sasha exclaimed.   
“No, like Armin’s mom.” Eren chuckles. 

We spent that night talking about their plans for the baby. We stayed until almost midnight, but we had school tomorrow and Mr. Flower Guy had work. We all left that night with high hopes for them. During the whole ride home I smiled to myself. The thought of my childhood friend having a kid made my heart leap with joy. I was going to be an uncle.

 

When we pulled up to the curb, Marco walked me to my door, of course, and said goodbye to me.

“Goodnight, Jean.”

“Night,” I smiled, unable to get rid of my goofy grin as I walked inside the house. “Wade! Armin and Eren are having a baby!”

But then I remembered, he was probably asleep by now. It was past midnight. I went upstairs to my room and turned on the lights to see Stormy asleep on my bed. She grew up quick. I got dressed in my pajamas, and then got into bed. I realized I couldn’t sleep. I was too excited. 

 

I got out of bed and grabbed some paper clips to throw them at Marco’s widow. I continued throwing them. 

“Marco,” I half whispered, half shouted.

No response.

I was literally about to throw a dictionary until he finally opened his curtains and window to stick his head out. 

“Hey,” he said.

“I throw a lifetime supply of paper clips for you and all I get is a ‘hey’?”

“Did you want me to get you a golden ring?”

Yes.   
“Look who’s suddenly getting good at talk-back,” I say, quirking a brow with a smirk. 

“You started it,” he says with a laugh. “So what is it? You can’t sleep?”

“No,” I answered. “Armin and Eren are going to have a  _ kid _ .”

“Yeah, I know.”

 

“Babies are weird.” I put my elbows on the window and rested my chin in my hands. 

“How so?” He asked.

“They’re so small and stuff, you know?”

“Yes, that’s how babies are. You might have one someday, you know.”

“With my raging homosexualness? Doubt it.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Anyway, I guess you should go to sleep. You’ve got work tomorrow.”

“I’m trying to get rid of this hickey, actually.”

“Try an ice pack,” I suggested. “Goodnight, Marco.”   
“Goodnight.”

I closed my window.


	14. Chapter 14

Two months after the news, Marco and I went to the babyshower. Even though they were adopting, it’s still nice to have a celebration. Of course, I got the them a gift, and also of course, I brought Marco with me. I needed a ride. He drove us to the designated place. It was a nice grassy area with a playground for the kids and a lake nearby. When we parked, Connie and Sasha walked over to us, holding hands.

 

“Finally the couple gets here.” Connie smirked. I faked a laugh and told him to shut up. Marco didn’t say anything. 

“You came just in time,” Sasha said. “Armin was just about to open the gifts.”

“We would’ve been here earlier,” Marco says, glancing at me, “but  _ someone _ had to style their hair perfectly.”

“It had to look good,” I reasoned. 

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Sasha walked off dragging Connie with her.

 

We walked over to where everyone else was at sitting on chairs while the kids played on the jungle gym. Marco and I sat in the only empty chairs next to each other. Honestly, it seemed like all we did at any kind of gathering. If I thought about it, we were always together. I preferred that, though.

 

“Open our present next.” Connie handed Armin a box with his and Sasha’s names on it. It was wrapped in balloon wrapping paper and had a blue bow on top. Armin took off the bow first, and then started tearing the paper. He opened up the box and pulled out shoes. They were so small, it made me feel all weird inside.

 

“Are kid’s feet that tiny?” I asked, leaning over to Marco. He looked at me with disbelief, his eyes questioning if I really just asked that.

“Yes, Jean, they are.”   
“I knew that,” I said grabbing my gift. “Catch!” I tossed it to Armin. He caught it, and started unwrapping it with a smile on his face. When he saw what it was, he laughed. 

“Look!” He showed it to everyone. It was a book titled  _ Go the Fuck to Sleep _ .

Ymir high fived me and one old lady glared at me.

“I’m sorry,” Marco apologized to her.

 

After opening the gifts, it was time for Baby Balloon Twister. It’s basically a game in which you put a balloon in your shirt to appear pregnant and play Twister. Yeah, that’s pretty much it. I stuffed a balloon in my tank top and had to help Marco shove one up his seriously tight shirt. 

“Hey, sing to my baby.” I told Connie.

“Hush little baby, please shut up,” he sang to my balloon and we laughed. 

“Please, not when there’s children around.” Marco sighed. 

“Oh, you’re no fun.”

“I’m not?” He quirked a brow, then grabbed a pen from the table and stabbed my fake baby, popping it.    
“My baby!” I shouted.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Armin says, chuckling and handing me another balloon. And so, the games began.

 

“Left hand red,” Armin called out, and we all tried to put our left hands on a red circle. My face ended up close to Marco’s, and our eyes met. He cracked a grin and I smiled from ear to ear as we both started laughing. Suddenly, I snorted. It only made us laugh harder. Then, I fell and lost the game.

 

I sat and watched as everyone else played the game. I looked at Eren, then at Armin. They were glowing, even though neither of them were really pregnant. I always thought Eren was handsome. Back in high school, I remembered how jealous I was of him. I wished I had teal eyes, his spot on the football team, his voice. I wanted Armin to be mine, but now it’s different. 

“Hey, Jean!” Marco shouted, waving at me. “I won!”

Yeah, it’s different.

 

I smiled at Marco, then got up and started walking towards the lake. I sat on the grass, watching the ducks float and duck their heads under water. I wished I had bread to throw at them.

“Something the matter?” Marco asked sitting next to me. 

“Not really,” I said as I hugged my knees. “I guess I’m still trying to get over the fact that my childhood friend is going to be a daddy.”

“I can see how that would feel,” he says. “If I found out that Duke was going to have a kid...wow.”

 

“Yeah. I can’t believe it. I always used to think that Eren would be me, and that I would marry Armin, you know?” I say shaking my head. 

“Do you still love him?” He asked.

I looked at him. “I think I’m moving onto you.”

Marco stared at me, wide eyed. He said nothing, and it made my chest squeeze painfully. 

“Just kidding.” I forced a laugh and stood up when all of the sudden he grabbed my hand standing up beside me. 

“Jean,” he said my name. 

I turned my head and gazed into his brown orbs, and he stared back with an emotion I couldn’t read. 

 

Just then, all of the ducks went crazy and started flying at us. We covered ourselves with our arms until they all left. 

“What the hell?” I shouted. 

Suddenly, I heard Connie cackle. 

“You guys look ridiculous!” He laughed.

“Clam it!” I stormed off.

“Wait, Jean!” Marco called after me, but I continued to walk away. I ended up walking home myself. It was too awkward being there with Marco. Did I really just confess to him?

 

 

Days passed, and I didn’t see Marco since the baby shower. I knew he rejected me by the way he looked at me when I told him I was moving onto him. What the fuck was I thinking? That he liked me too? He probably liked someone else. I stayed in my room. I didn’t dare go to Bott’s Flowers for a week, and I continued to stay absent from there, too. 

“Jean!” Wade called from downstairs. “Marco is here to see you!”

 

I stayed in my room and laid on my bed staring at the ceiling, listening to Wade continuously call my name until he finally gave up. I could hear mumbles, and Marco’s voice pleading for him to see me, but Wade didn’t let him in. The door closed, and I heard footsteps coming towards my room. There was a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” 

“The man who found you in a FedEx box,” Wade said.

 

I got up and opened the door. There stood Wade with his arms crossed staring down at me. 

“So?” He spoke. “Are you going to tell me?”

I avoided eye contact with him. “I kind of confessed to him.”

“Kind of?” He questioned, stepping into my room and sitting himself on my bed.

“I mean, I told him I was moving onto him.”   
“And? What’d he say?”

“Nothing. He said absolutely nothing.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Ouch.”

 

“Well,” Wade breathed out, “maybe if you give him a chance to say something, you might hear something you want to know.”

“That he doesn’t like me the way I like him? Yeah, no thanks.”

“You never know.” He got up and left the room. I watched as he closed the door behind him.

 

I laid back down in my bed, feeling my heart ache. Suddenly, my phone vibrated. I looked to see it was Marco texting me, again.

“ _ Jean _ ,” it read. “ _ I really need to talk to you _ .”

I threw my phone on the nightstand. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say. I was too afraid. I ignored all of the texts he sent and fell asleep.

 

A week has passed since then, and Marco had so many attempts at getting me to talk to him. He threw marbles and little rocks at my window, texted, called, came to my house, but kept getting shot down. He even went to my school, but I ignored him and even had to run away from him. He was really persistent, and I was really stubborn.

 

One day as I was laying in bed thinking about nothing, my phone started ringing. It was an unknown number. I answered to hear a woman’s voice. It was Gabriella.

“Jean?” She said my name in question. “Is Marco with you?”


	15. Chapter 15

Gabriella’s voice was on the other line. She sounded worried, making me scared. When she asked if Marco was with me, I didn’t know what to think.

“No, he isn’t,” I said. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“He’s not answering my calls,” she says quickly. “I’ve called so many times and no answer. It’s his day off, too. He should answer, shouldn’t he?”

“Gabriella, calm down. I’ll go check on him right now. I’ll call you back, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you, Jean.”

“No problem,” I say before I hang up.

 

I hurriedly opened my window and started throwing paper clips at his window, hoping he’d answer. He didn’t. I got out of bed and rushed downstairs and out the front door. I looked to see that Marco’s motorcycle was still there. It wasn’t like him to ignore calls or ignore me tapping away at his window. 

 

I walked over to his house and knocked on the door. I waited. Knocked. Waited. Knocked. Nothing. I grabbed the doorknob and twisted it, and luckily, it was unlocked. 

“Marco?” I called his name, walking in. I turned my head to see Marco laying on his couch with an empty FireBall bottle by his side, and he was passed out snoring. 

 

I let out a sigh in relief, and then called Gabriella to tell her that her son is fine, and that he’s just drunk.

“Oh thank goodness,” she breathes out. “It was Duke again, wasn’t it?”   
“Don’t see him around.”

“Something must have happened for him to drink so much to the point where he’d pass out.”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Jean? Did something happen?”

“It’s complicated.”

“No need to say anymore, sweetheart. Take care of Marco now, okay?”   
“I will, Gabriella. Bye.”

“Goodbye.”

 

I shoved my phone in my pants pocket and walked over to Marco. I kicked the empty bottle over and bent down next to him to shake his shoulder. 

“Marco,” I spoke his name. I haven’t done it in a while, so it felt kind of weird. I shook him harder, saying his name once more. 

“Jean…” he muttered my name, still sleeping. 

 

I was taken by surprise when he said that, and felt an odd sense of hope fill within my heart. Suddenly, tears started falling from his eyes. 

“You’re such an emotional drunk,” I say with a little laugh wiping his tears away.

 

His nose scrunches up and his eyes slowly open. When he became fully awake and realized what was going on, his cheeks burned red and he immediately sat up.

“J-Jean? Is that you?” He asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes and sniffling. 

“Nope, it’s Santa Claus,” I joked. “Now go back to sleep or else no presents for you.”

“Jean…” 

“Yes?”   
“Do you have any idea how much I missed you?” 

“I can make a pretty good guess,” I said awkwardly. The guilt was hitting me hard. 

 

Tears still trailed down his cheeks as he frowned with his brows furrowed. I let out a deep sigh.

“Jeez.” I stand up and reach out my hand to wipe his tears away from his left cheek, and he holds my hand then kisses my palm. When he realized what he did, he went wide-eyed and let go of my hand.

“No, I’m mad at you,” he says, folding his arms. 

“I know,” I said looking down, “and you have every right to be.”

 

“Do you have any idea how many times I knocked on your door, called you, texted you?” His voice got louder with every few words. I felt like I was getting scolded by an older brother.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized slowly. “I was just...afraid.”

“I know it’s risky, but when you tell someone something like that, you have to hear them out.”

“I know, I wasn’t thinking. I know you don’t like me like that. I guess I just didn’t want to hear it.”

“Jean.”

“Look, I get it, alright?” 

“Jean.”

“I’m gonna go.” I stood up and turned to walk away.

“ _ Jean _ .”

“What?” I stopped and looked back at him.

 

Marco opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and pursed his lips, looking away from me. 

I scoffed. “That’s what I thought.”

I walked over to the door and grabbed the doorknob, but before I could turn it, Marco spoke up.

“I really like you.”

“I know.”

“No, Jean, I mean I  _ like _ you.”

 

I felt my heart drop into my stomach. I let go of the knob and turned around, asking him if he really meant it.

“In case me kissing your hand wasn’t obvious enough, yes.” Marco smiled. It wasn’t his professional one, nor his polite one, but an honest and loving one. 

“S-Since when?” I asked, finally believing him and feeling like a total ass. 

“Maybe since the first day I met you,” he sheepishly says. “I think it was love at first sight?”

“It’s not like you actually love me.” I rolled my eyes, lightly laughing. 

He only stared at me.

“Oh.” My smile dropped. 

 

“It’s okay if you don’t like me as much as I like you!” Marco’s voice was filled with worry as he panicked with his hands up. 

“Are you kidding?” I squinted my eyes at him. “I’m pretty sure I love you more than you love me.”

His entire face and ears turned red, and so did mine when I realized what I just said.

“Um, Jean?”   
“Yeah?” 

“That was really cheesy.”

“I know.”

 

I walked over to Marco and he scooted over for me to sit next to him. I plopped down on the couch, still warm in the face. 

“So, now what?” He asks.

I held out my hand, not looking his way. “Wanna be my boyfriend?”

Marco chuckled, putting his hand in mine. “I would love to.”

 

We held hands and watched the 80’s Voltron, laughing at their voices and old animation. It was very amusing. I glanced at Marco who was laughing his head off at Pidge. I looked at him, falling in love all over again.

 

When he was done laughing, he had to wipe a tear away from his eye. He looked at me, smiling. 

“You’re so cute.” I chuckled.

“And you’re cheesy,” he retorts, playfully punching my shoulder. “I never would have expected this from Jean Kirschtein.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“I’ll try not to.”

 

I hadn’t realized what time it was until Wade texted me, asking me where I was. It was already time for him to be home. 

“I gotta go,” I said, letting go of his hand.

“Oh.” He looked down, seeming disappointed.

His sad face looked so cute like a puppy’s, and now that we were boyfriends, I could do what I wanted. I kissed his cheek. 

 

Marco’s eyes rounded as he looked at me in surprise. I averted my eyes and told him that I would see him tomorrow, then got up and left the house, leaving him speechless. Right when I closed the door, I heard a muffled shout.

“Woohoo!” Marco yelled, and I smiled to myself thinking of how much of a dork my boyfriend is.

 

I walked into my house and announced that I was home. Wade walked out from the kitchen, asking me where I was.

“Marco’s house,” I answered. 

Wade lets out a sigh. “Don’t worry, Jean. There’s plenty of other fish in the sea.”

“We’re together now.”

He raised his brows and said, “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh thank the gods,” he says, obviously relieved. “You’re probably never gonna find a perfect one like that ever again.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” I headed towards the stairs and went up to my room, Stormy following behind.

 

I laid down on my bed and smiled at the ceiling, my cheeks hurting from grinning like an idiot too much. I brought a hand to my chest to feel how fast my heart was pounding, and man, was it fast. The hand that held Marco’s and the lips that touched his cheek tingled like hell.

_ I am so in love,  _ I thought. 

 

I turned on my side and looked at the window where Marco and I had many conversations. He said he loved me from the first day we met, and I found it annoying how he always used to say, “I hope to see you soon.” I was glad we got to see each other again. 

 

The next morning, I walked outside the house to get ready to walk to school. I walked over to Marco’s motorcycle and gently touched it. Memories. I smiled to myself. 

“Did you need a ride?” I heard Marco’s voice ask, and turned around to see him standing there. 

“Oh, um,” I stammered. “No, I was just…”

“You were just?”

“Thinking.”

“Thinking,” he repeated. “Thinking about what?”

“You, maybe,” I say shyly. 

 

Marco exhaled through his nose, looking at me with a loving smile and then walked over to me to give me a kiss on the forehead, making me blush like crazy.

“I’ve always wanted to do that, but I was afraid you’d punch me.” He scratched the back of his head. 

“I probably would have.” I tried to make it seem as though I wasn’t screaming on the inside.

“Do you need a ride?”

“Is that alright?”

That made him laugh. “Of course it is.”

“Okay then. Thanks.”

After getting the helmets, Marco got on the bike and I sat behind him. I held onto him as he drove off.

Once we got to the school, I took off the helmet and fixed the straps on my backpack. I thanked him for the ride, and when I tried giving the helmet back he told me to hold onto it.

“I’ll pick you up after school. Two o’clock, right?”

“But don’t you have work?” 

“I can extend my lunch hour.”

“You’re too nice, Marco.”

He shrugged.

“Thanks,” I said, and then started to walk off to my class. 

“L-Love you!” He shouted.

 

Everyone stopped what they were doing to turn their heads and look at him, then at me. I looked around as girls started giggling and telling each other that we’re cute. I wanted to say it back, but it was like I was giving a speech for the first time in fifth grade. I just grabbed one of my straps and walked away from the scene.

 

In class, I took notes as the professor as he gave the lesson. When he went on about things that didn’t really matter, I doodled on the side of my paper. I drew a cute little vampire, and his boyfriend made of bubblegum. I drew little circles on his neck so you know the vampire is a horny little sucker. I then drew a speech bubble next to the vampire and wrote “You taste sweet.” 

 

I looked at the little sketch and twirled my pencil around, but when it fell from my hand, I leaned over to pick it up. Right when I was about to grab it, the helmet caught my eye. I thought about Marco. I felt bad for not telling him that I love him too. But he knows that, right?

 

During lunch, I sat with Ymir and Connie thinking about how I should tell them the news. I didn’t know if I could blurt it out or if I should just get on the topic of relationships and say, “Hey, speaking of relationships, guess who finally has a boyfriend?”

“You’re awfully quiet,” Ymir says, looking at me with squinted eyes.

I panicked. “Marco is my boyfriend.”

 

Connie choked on his drink and Ymir went wide-eyed. As Connie coughed, Ymir asked me what I was talking about.

“Exactly what I said?” I said, but my statement sounded more like a question.

“Since when?” Connie managed to ask.   
“Since yesterday.” 

“But I thought you guys weren’t talking?”   
“More like he wasn’t talking to him,” Ymir adds. 

“Okay, I deserve that. I still can’t believe he agreed to go out with me after all those times I ignored him.”

“He must really love you.”

That made me smile. “Yeah.”

 

After school, I walked out to the front, and just as I hoped, he was parked right there where he dropped me off. He was standing there looking around and when his brown eyes looked my way, he smiled and gave a small wave. I smiled back as I walked over to him. 

“How was your day?” Marco asked. 

 

I set down the helmet on the sidewalk and grabbed his hand to bring it up to my lips and kiss it. 

“I forgot to tell you this, but uh,” I say, trying to avoid eye contact with him, “I love you too.”

I look up to see a serious Marco, his eyes focused on me and his expression stern.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks, squeezing my hand.

“N-No!” I stutter. “Not yet, at least. I mean, not in front of everyone.”

He then cracked a smile. “Okay. Shall we go, then?”

“Sure.”

I picked up the helmet and put it on as Marco got on the motorcycle. I then got on behind him, holding him tight as he started to drive away from the school. 


	16. Chapter 16

I was going to have my first date with Marco today. Today, one of the most scariest days of my life. Marco and I hung out by ourselves before, but this was a date. What if I say something wrong? What if I fuck up? What if I get gassy? Would he still love me? 

 

As I was running through a bunch of questions in mind, the doorbell rang. I hurried to the mirror and fixed my hair as I heard Wade from downstairs. He was talking to Marco, and before he said anything weird, I quickly stepped down the stairs. I expected him to say something like “if he comes home crying, I’m kicking your ass.” Instead, he apologized to him in advance in case I “do anything stupid.”

 

“I’m here,” I say, popping up from behind Wade. I squeezed past him through the doorway and accidentally bumped into Marco when I popped out. Just a little touch gave me butterflies. 

“What time should I bring him home?” He asked Wade.

“Ten o’clock at the latest.”

“Alright. Thank you for letting me take him out.”

“No, thank  _ you _ for bringing him out of his shell.”

Marco smiled wider. “I’ll bring him back before ten, then.”

“Have fun.”

 

Marco and I walked off, and my stomach still felt weird. I was either nervous or still thrown off from that bump. As we were walking to the family restaurant, we made conversation about how big Stormy got and how Marco remembers how small she used to be. 

“Yeah, she has grown up to be quite the heartbreaker,” I quipped. 

Marco laughed sweetly at that, then the conversation dropped. 

 

I glanced at him from time to time as we continued walking. I looked down at Marco’s hand. I love how rough, large, and warm they are. I brushed my fingertips against his hand, and when he shot his eyes at me, I immediately looked to the side. I could practically feel his eyes and lips smile at me as he held my hand. We intertwined fingers and continued to make our way to the restaurant. 

 

When we reached our destination, we went inside and waited to be shown to a table. When I realized we were still holding hands, I let go and held my elbow behind my back.

“Why are you acting so shy all of the sudden?” Marco asked. 

“I’m not.”

Just when he was about to say something back, a waitress came to take us to a table by the window.

 

“My name is Alyssa and I will be your waitress for today,” she says as she sets down two menus. “What kind of drinks would you like?”

“Raspberry iced tea,” we say at the same time, and I grin like an idiot. 

“You got it,” Alyssa said enthusiastically and then left to give us some time to decide what we want to order. 

 

“Would you like to order the same thing again?” Marco asks, lifting a brow and smirking. I rolled my eyes and let out fake laughter.

“Ha, ha. You’re funny.”

“Thanks,” he chuckled. “I think I’ll get the double cheeseburger.”

I snorted. “How do you eat so much yet you’re so fit?”

“I’m not that fit.”   
“Yes, you are. I’ve seen you almost naked, Marco.”

He blushed. “Oh.”

 

His reaction brought a smile to my face, and I looked at him lovingly. I just adored him. Marco looked up at me from the table. 

“What?” He questions. 

“Nothing.” I smile even wider.

“So what are you going to get?” He averts his eyes and looks at the menu.

“Grilled ham and cheese with some fries.”

“You can order some dessert if you’d like.”

I hummed, pondering a thought. “Maybe I’ll have you instead.”

“W-What happened to shy Jean just a second ago?”

“It’s your fault. You showed me your shy side.”

“I guess I’ll have to fight back.”

And so, the flirt and embarrass each other fight began.

 

The waitress came back with our drinks and took out her little notebook to take our order. She looked at Marco first.

“I’ll have the double bacon cheeseburger, and my boyfriend will have the grilled ham and cheese sandwich with fries please.”

Oh, it was on. 

As he took a sip of his drink, I took the chance to ask for something before she left.

“If possible, can we get a can of whipped cream for tonight? He likes it like that.”

Marco spit some of his tea out and the waitress giggled. 

“I’ll get you some napkins.”

 

When she walked away, Marco looked at me with wide eyes and scarlet red cheeks. I folded my arms.

“Why?” He asked. 

I chuckled a little, which turned into fits of laughter. I was cracking up and crying until Alyssa came back with some napkins and a towel to clean up the mess. I wiped a tear away.

“Sorry about this,” I apologized to her.   
“Don’t worry, you two are a cute couple.”

This time, neither of us had to deny it. 

 

As we ate, we struck up a conversation about how his job is coming along and how my college life is going. Everything was normal, but happier. I guess love really does make you see things differently.

“Now, I have a question for you, but you don’t have to answer,” he says slowly.

“Shoot.”

“Why do you call your dad by his name?”

“Didn’t I tell you this already?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Oh, well, Wade isn’t really my dad. He adopted me when he found me in a box at the police station.”

“You’re adopted…?”   
“Yeah,” I said, hearing the pity in his voice. “I hope this doesn’t change anything.”

“No, Jean, of course not,” he says immediately after I’m done with my  sentence. “I’ll love you no matter what.”

 

I felt like crying at that moment. That was the best thing I’ve heard all day. I really appreciated Marco, but “appreciate” isn’t what I’d use to describe how I feel towards him. Even “love” isn’t strong enough. No word could describe the feelings I have for him. 

 

“Jean, are you okay?” Marco asks, and that’s when I realize my vision was blurred through tears. 

“Oh,” I say as I rub my eyes. “No, I’m good. I just...really love you.”   
Marco smiles kindly. “I love you, too.”

I sniffled and laughed a bit. 

 

“I won’t ask about it anymore if it makes you uncomfortable.” He played with his straw in the cup, swirling it around and making noise with the ice. 

“It’s fine,” I say. “If you’re wondering why I call him by his name it’s because he didn’t want to be called ‘dad’ for some odd reason he doesn’t even know himself.”

“I see.”

“Yeah. We don’t really see it as a big deal. I remember I used to think that every kid was found in a FedEx box in front of their parents’ doorstep.”

That made him laugh.

“If you think that’s bad, I thought that chocolate milk came from brown cows.”

“I’d really like to meet little Jean.”

“So you can tell him more lies?”

“So I can tell him how amazing he’s going to be when he gets older.”

“You’re such an old lady.”

 

When we were done with our food, Marco payed the bill and we left the restaurant. As we walked back, I noticed that dark clouds started gathering quickly. Soon enough, it rained.  _ Hard _ . We ended up having to run. Marco gripped onto my hand tightly as we ran, and we laughed like total dorks getting soaked from the rain. 

Once we got to my house, I felt my heart racing harshly which made me realize how out of shape I was. Marco was panting a bit too, but not as much as I was. Once we caught our breaths, we looked at each other. 

“I’ve never seen you so wet before.” I laughed. 

“Same here.” Marco reached out and tucked wet strands of hair behind my ear. I looked into his planet-like brown eyes, and he gazed back into my copper ones. 

“Marco?” 

“Can I kiss you?” He asks. 

 

I nodded my head in response, and he leans in slowly until our cold and wet lips touch, but they warmed up not long after they collided. Marco put his hands on my waist as mine touched his cheeks. I felt like my heart was going to burst. When we pulled away, we pressed our foreheads together, and this really felt like a cheesy movie.

 

Marco held onto my hands and squeezed them. I squeezed back as he moved his forehead from mine and looked at me with kind eyes. I actually forgot it was raining for a second until Marco said I should get inside before we got sick. 

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asks.

“Marco, it’s still early. Wade said to be home by ten.”

“Right,” he says, and then starts to ponder a thought.

“I have an idea.” I wink at him. 

“J-Jean!” He sputtered. 

“What? I’m talking about scary movies.”

“Oh,” he breathes out. “I knew that.”

“What were you thinking?” 

I knew what he was thinking. I just wanted to hear him say it.

“Nothing.” 

 

I told him I would meet him at his place after I change into some dry clothes, and then went inside my house. After I closed the door, I brought a hand to my mouth where Marco’s lips touched. I couldn’t stop smiling. 

After drying off and changing into a cardigan and of course, ripped jeans, I grabbed an umbrella and opened it on the porch, then walked over to Marco’s house. I knocked on the door, waiting for him to answer. I shivered a bit. 

“Coming!” I heard him call from inside. 

I closed my umbrella and waited. 

 

Marco answered the door wearing a shirt. Not a jacket, not a hoodie, nor a longsleeve, but a shirt like he wasn’t cold. 

“Is something wrong, Jean?” He asked. 

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Oh, no. I don’t really get cold.”

“What, you’ve got really warm body temperature?” I question as I walk in and sit on the couch. 

“Yeah, I do.” He answers, sitting next to me. 

 

I look at him for a second, wondering if that’s true or if he’s just trying to seem like a cool guy that never gets cold. 

“I’ll prove it to you,” Marco says with that soft voice of his, but it was suggestive. 

“How so?” 

Then, he opens his arms wide, and I smile. 

 

Marco and I cuddled on his couch watching scary movies, and I could hear his heart racing with my ear on his chest whenever there was a jump-scare. I chuckled when that happened the third time. 

“What’s so funny?” Marco asks, brushing my hair lightly with his long fingers. 

“You might not get cold but you sure are a scaredy cat.”

“Yeah, I know.” 

I drew invisible circles on his chest and he kissed my forehead. 

 

The more Marco stroked my hair, the sleepier I got. I couldn’t hold my eyelids open any longer and ended up closing them. 

“Jean?” He softly says my name.   
“Mm?” 

“Are you tired?”

“A bit.”   
“Wanna sleep in my room?”   
“Only if you come with me.”

He chuckled. “Sure.”

 

I got up so Marco could as well, and then we went upstairs after turning off the TV. I followed behind him as he led the way. When he opened the door, I saw that his room was neat and clean, just as expected. He walks over to his bed and lays down, then lifts an arm for me to crawl under, which I did. 

 

“I’ll set an alarm for 9:30,” Marco says, pulling out his phone and starts tapping away. I snuggled my head under his neck and kissed it. He shoved his phone in his back pocket and put an arm over me. 

“Marco,” I say.

“Yes?”   
“Nothing. I just wanted to say your name.” I smile.

“Jean Kirschtein, you are possibly the cheesiest person I know.”

“I know,” I said before dozing off into a deep sleep.

 

Right when I fell asleep, I started to dream. It wasn’t a dream, though. It was a nightmare. Marco was being eaten by a giant, and all I could do was stand there and yell. I tried running to him, but my legs just wouldn’t move. 

“Marco!” I cried out, hot tears streaming down my cheeks. He shouted in pain and I could feel my heart breaking. I bent down and stared down at the floor, frustrated with myself. I cried.

 

“Jean!” A distant voice calls my name. It gets louder and louder as I open my eyes and look around. It sounded like Marco. I felt something shaking me. I turn my head around to see Marco standing there, but he was glowing. A yellow aura surrounded him and he had giant wings like an angel. He was smiling at me, then dropped the beam and suddenly shouted my name loudly. 

 

I shot my eyes open and looked up at Marco. He wore a face of worry and had his hand on my shoulder.    
“Marco…?” My voice came out shaky, and felt that my cheeks were wet. I wiped my tears away sniffling. 

“Jean, are you okay?” He asked. 

I shook my head. “No, I thought...I thought you were dead.” 

Marco then embraces me in his strong arms and holds me close. “It’s okay. I’m here.” 

“Please, don’t go.”   
“I’m not going anywhere.” He pulled away from me to wipe my tears. 

 

I let his rough thumb run across my wet and hot cheek. My heart was no longer breaking. It was like he had magical healing powers of some sort. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” he repeats. “Okay?”

I nod. “Okay.” 

Marco then kisses me on the lips softly, and I instantly calm down. Yeah, this guy definitely has powers. 

 

When the rain stopped, Marco took me home holding my hand all the way to the door. He smiled down at me and then kissed my cheek. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says. 

“Yeah. See you.” 

We let go of each other’s hands, and I walked into my house. I sighed happily after closing the door. 

“I am so in love with a loser.”

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

Some time later after my first date with Marco, I was helping Wade set up the Christmas tree. He brought out a box of ornaments from when I was young. There was a school picture of me on a fabric snowman and another one of my face glued on a wooden oval with decorations. They’re pretty embarrassing, but we put them up every year, so we  _ have  _ to keep them.

 

The most wonderful time of the year was coming up next month. I remembered the first time I met Marco as my neighbor, and that time I had to help him get all those people out of his house on Christmas day. I smiled to myself recalling those events.

“Thinking about Marco, huh?” Wade says, putting up another ornament.

 

I rolled my eyes and told him I don’t think about him every second. But I lied. I just might think about him a little. Okay, maybe a lot. But can you blame me? The guy’s the best person I’ve ever met. 

 

I grabbed another ornament from the box and put it on the tree. It was a red ball that I could see my reflection from. I looked like shit. Just when Wade was about to put the star on top, I shouted for him to wait. 

“What? You miss putting up the star?” 

“No, we should let April put it up.”

“Well, call them over here,” Wade says without hesitation. 

 

Wade loves April like she’s his granddaughter. I can see the shine in his eyes whenever he plays with her. It used to be cute, but then it started to hurt. I wondered if Wade still loved me, or if he’d prefer it if I were a child. 

“Something on your mind, kid?” He asks. 

“No,” I say, shaking my head. I then felt like it was now or never, so I spoke my mind. “Actually, yeah. There is something I want to talk about.”

Wade stopped what he was doing and looked at me. 

“Do you not love me anymore?” I asked. 

 

Wade frowns. He lets out a long sigh and shakes his head, and then walks over to the couch to sit and rub the root of his nose. 

“Jean,” he says my name. “Are you really asking this?”

“I just wanted to know.”

“I will love you no matter what. Remember when you first told me which team you play for?” 

“...yeah, I remember.”

“And I still loved you. What makes you think I don’t now?”

“I just...thought you liked me better as a kid.”

 

He laughed. In fact, he laughed so hard that he wipe a tear from his eye. I was confused until he explained things to me.

“Jean, you were such a difficult child,” he says chuckling. “I think I like it better the way you are now. Not saying I didn’t like it when you were a kid, but I’d rather deal with your questions about gay sex than have to deal with you crying every two hours.”

I laugh a little. “Thanks.”

“Does that help?”

“Yeah. I’ll call them over right now.” 

 

Right when I pulled out my phone to call Armin, it started ringing, and it was Eren who was calling. I answered it.

“Hello?” I say.

“Hey, Jean,” Eren’s voice came through. “Can you watch April for us tonight? Armin and I are going to have date night.”

“Eww!” April says in the background.

I smiled. “You can bring her over right now. Wade and I were just setting up the Christmas tree and wanted to know if she could put the star on top for us?” 

I assumed I was on speaker when I heard April gasp.

“Can I, papa?!” 

“Is that really okay, Jean?” This time, Armin’s voice popped up.

 

“Yeah, of course,” I said with a chuckle. “We’d be honored, really, and I can watch her for the rest of the day, too.”

“Uncle Jean, can uncle Marco watch me too?”

“I’ll have to ask him but I’m sure he can.”

“Okay!”

“We’ll be there soon.”

“Alright.”

And then he hung up.

 

Wade stood up from the couch and walked over to the other side of the tree, examining it. Then, he grinned. 

“This is good.” 

“Armin and Eren are coming over to drop off April,” I told him, “and I’ll take her over to Marco’s after she puts the star on.”

“Alright. I’ll be asleep,” he says as he heads for the stairs. “Tell April that I said hello.”

“You got it.” 

 

As I put the last of the decorations on the tree, there was a knock at the door. I set down the ornament and walked over to the door and opened it to see a happy father and his happy daughter. It was Armin and April, and Eren was in the car. 

“Hey,” I greet them. 

“Thanks for this, Jean.” Armin smiles. 

“It’s a pleasure.” 

“Hi uncle Jean!” April says loudly, and then looks past me. “Where’s Wade?” 

“He’s asleep, but he says hello.”

“Oh, okay.” 

“April,” Armin says kneeling down next to her, “behave for uncle Jean and uncle Marco, okay?”

“I will, daddy!” 

“Good. I’ll see you later, sunshine.”

“Okay, bye!” 

 

After April walks into the house, Armin and Eren drive off. I closed the door behind her and look at her Hello Kitty backpack. 

“Whatcha got there, kiddo?” I ask her.

“Coloring books and paper and crayons and pencils!”

“Just what I hoped for.” I grin. 

 

April took off her backpack and sets it down near the couch instead of just dropping it. Her parents really are raising her right.

“Can I put the star up now?” She asks. 

“But of course, madam.” I grab the star from the box and hand it to her. 

“Thank you.” She grabs it, and I pick her up so she can put it on the top of the Christmas tree. 

“Good job,” I say as I set her back down.

“Yes! Very good!” 

“You want to go to uncle Marco’s now?”

“Yeah!”

 

I grab a jacket from the coat rack as April puts her backpack back on, and I hold my hand out for her to take, but she only shakes her head.

“What? You too old for that now?”

“I’m only six years old, uncle Jean.”

“Then what is it?”

“I want to be on your shoulders.”

I shrugged. “Alright.” 

 

I bent down in front of her so she could get on my shoulders. I held onto her ankles as I stood up so she wouldn’t fall. 

“Is this what it’s like to be tall?” April whispered to herself. 

I smiled and walked out the house, then headed over to Marco’s place. 

“Can I knock?” She asks very enthusiastically.

“Go for it.” 

April pounded her fist on the door, and a second later, her other uncle answered.

 

When the door opened, we saw that Marco wore a grin so wide that his eyes squinted which made my heart throb.

“Hi uncle Marco!” April greets him, seeming very excited. I loved it. 

“Hi, April!” Marco greets her back and takes her from my shoulders to carry her into the house. “Did uncle Jean scare you with that mean face of his?”

“I heard that,” I say, stepping into the house and closing the door behind me. 

“No,” April tells him shaking her head. “He let me put the star on top of the Christmas tree.”

“He did?” Marco turns his head to glance at me with a look in his eye.

 

Later on, we ended up watching “Madagascar” while coloring and drawing. I sketched pictures of Marco and April while they colored in the coloring books. April did a better job of coloring inside the lines than Marco. She suddenly looks up at me.

“Can I draw with you, uncle Jean?” She asks. 

“You don’t wanna color with me anymore?” Marco says, seeming hurt and overdramatic.

“I wanna practice on my drawing skills.”

“Sure thing.” I scoot over from Marco so she can lay next to me. I handed her a paper and she grabbed a crayon. 

 

I study April as she draws, and she glares up at me. She furrowed her brows angrily and told me not to look at her while covering her paper with her arms. 

“Okay, okay.” I laugh and continue with my sketch. 

 

I drew April in her favorite dress. It was a pink flower one. It was Marco’s favorite, too. That’s not very surprising though. As I started coloring the flower petals, I suddenly hear paper rustling. 

“Look!” April shouts, showing Marco her drawing. “It’s me, daddy, papa, you, uncle Jean, aunty Ymir, aunty Christa, aunty Sasha, and uncle Connie! Oh, and Stormy!”

“Are those my freckles?” Marco grins. 

“Yep.”

“Show uncle Jean.”

 

She turned around and shoved her drawing in my face. I had to lean my head back a little bit to get a better look. 

“Wow,” I raise my brows in surprise. “You’ll be an artist just like me. Maybe even better.”

April grew a large beam and her eyes lit up with enthusiasm. “You think so?” 

“Definitely.” 

 

We had lunch in Marco’s kitchen. We silently ate as I looked at Marco and back at my food, then at April then back at my food, then back at Marco. He noticed my gaze and swallowed his food before speaking.

“Yes, Jean?” He says in question. 

“Nothing.” I immediately look away.

“Your face is red,” April says, pointing at me. 

 

Under the table, Marco holds my hand and squeezes. I squeeze back feeling butterflies in my stomach. We’ve been dating for a while now, but he still gives me those oh so lovely butterflies. 

“I know you’re holding hands,” April said suddenly, and we quickly let go. “Papa and daddy do it when we’re eating dinner.”

“Sorry,” Marco apologizes and scratches the back of his head nervously, turning pink.

 

Just then, my phone started ringing from the living room, so I got up and quickly walked out of the kitchen to answer it. It was Armin.

“Hey, Jean?” His voice came from the other side. “Do you think April can spend the night with you? Eren and I, uh…”   
“We’re gonna do it!” Eren shouts from the back.

“E-Eren!”

“It’s fine,” I laughed. “We’re at Marco’s place right now. I’m sure he won’t mind a sleepover.”

“Thanks. Also, no scary movies. You remember what happened last time.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Okay. We’ll come by before our date and drop off some clothes for her. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you.”

And then I hung up.

 

I walked back into the kitchen with my phone in hand and set it on the table while sitting down.

“Who was it?” Marco asked. 

“Armin. Good news, kiddo. You get to spend the night.”

“Really?!” 

“Yep. Your dad is going to drop off some clothes for you later.”

“Yes!” She pumps her fists in the air. 

“You don’t mind, do you?” I turn to Marco.

“Not at all.” 

“Thank you uncles!”

We look at her and smile, and I’m pretty sure both of our hearts throbbed at her cuteness.

 

Armin shows up at the door later on that night wearing nice clothes and held another Hello Kitty backpack but this one had a different design. 

“How much Hello Kitty crap does she have?” I raise a brow.

“Jean,” Armin says sternly. “Language, please.”

“What?” I take the backpack from him. “It’s not a bad word.”

“It is to me, and I’m not trying to have my little girl come home saying the C-word.”   
“Whatever, mom. Don’t you have a date to go to?”   
“Yes, I do. Where is she?”   
“Right here, daddy!” April comes running toward us, and Armin bends down to hug her.

“Be good for your uncles, alright?”   
“I know.”

“Good.” He kisses her cheek and then says goodbye to us. 

 

It was bath time. I ran the water in the tub and asked April if she wanted bubbles in her bath. 

“I’m not a baby,” she says, sticking her hand in the water to see if the temperature is just right. 

“If you say so.” I shrug. 

“Okay, it’s good.”

“Glad,” I say, taking out the shampoo, conditioner, and bodywash from the bag that Armin brought. “Here’s your stuff, and the towel is on the counter. The washcloth is already in the tub. Now, are you  _ sure _ you don’t want help?”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay,” I exhale. “Be careful not to get it in your eyes, alright?” 

“I know.”

 

I walked out of the bathroom leaving the door open. Marco was leaning against the wall waiting for me, and I grabbed his hand to lead him away from the bathroom. He smiled as I dragged him to the living room and sat him down on the couch. 

“J-Jean,” Marco says my name, flustered. 

“Just one kiss.” 

“One kiss could lead to me wanting more,” he mutters under his breath.

“I’ll make it quick.” I sit on his lap and then give him a small peck on the lips.

 

Marco kissed me back. Deep. He pulled away to give me a little bite on my neck, and I gripped a handful of his shirt trying not to make a sound. He’s normally not this assertive. 

“What’s gotten you in such a mood?” I chuckled.

“Seeing you play daddy just made me all weird.” He proceeds to give me kisses on my collar bone. Just when I was about to nibble his ear, April shouted from the bathroom.

“Uncle Jean!” She called. “There’s a spider in here!”

 

I let out a deep sigh and got off of Marco’s lap. I left him staring up at the ceiling with his head hanging back. I went inside the bathroom to see that the curtain was closed but a hand was sticking out pointing at a daddy long leg by the toilet.   
“I’ll save you, princess.” I grab some toilet paper and squish the spider with it.

“Okay now get out!” 

“Okay, okay.” I raise my hands and walk out of the bathroom.

 

I sat back down with Marco who had his face in his palms. I patted his back and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

“Maybe some other time,” I say with a sigh. “Maybe some other time.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up. There's smut.

That night at the sleepover, April put stickers on my face and then put some on Marco’s. We complimented each other like ladies would and had a tea party. After that, we watched “Madagascar” one more time in the living room before she fell asleep. I was about to pick her up until Marco stopped me.   
“I’ll take her,” he says, lifting her from the couch and then heading towards the stairs. 

 

I stayed on the couch waiting for Marco to come back. I wanted to kiss him. I loved seeing him so good with kids. I grinned at how cute he was with April.

“What’s with that look?” Marco asks sitting next to me. 

“I love you so much.” I pull him in to kiss him on the cheek. 

“I love you, too.” He blushed. 

“What do you think about having a kid?” I start leaving kisses on his neck.

“W-What do I think?”   
“Mm.”

“Maybe later down the line.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” I cooed, running my hand up his shirt feeling his abs.

 

Marco then grabbed my hand and kissed me. He slid his tongue in my mouth and we ended up having a makeout session. We haven’t done  _ it _ yet. I really wanted to, but I was pretty nervous being the one to take it in the ass. We already discussed who is top and who is bottom. But I still wanted to do it like hell. Forgetting April was still here, I put my hand on Marco’s crotch. 

“Jean, wait.” Marco pulls away.

“S-Sorry,” I apologized. “I was too stuck into the moment.” 

“I-It’s fine. Maybe some other time.” His face burned scarlet. 

I had my hands folded in my lap, wondering when we were going to have sex.

 

The next morning, I awoke to the smell of bacon and Marco humming. I walked into the kitchen to see him by the stove cooking and April was eating at the table. 

“Good morning, uncle Jean,” she says without looking at me and continues to eat her eggs.

“Morning,” I greet her back, sitting across from her at the table where there was a plate made for me. “Thanks, Marco.”

“No problem,” he says from the stove. 

 

“Papa called earlier,” April lets me know with a mouth full of hash browns. “He said he’s going to pick me up at twelve.” She had a smile on her face. I could tell how much she loves her fathers. 

 

After we ate, we sat on the couch watching Spongebob until Eren came. There was a knock at the door and April excitedly hopped off the couch and ran to the door to answer it. 

“Hi papa!” She shouts enthusiastically.

“How’s my girl?” Eren picks her up and carries her. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah! We didn’t watch scary movies though…”

“Good,” he says looking at me. “Thanks again, guys.”

“It’s no problem,” says Marco. 

“Say goodbye, April.”

“Bye uncle Jean and uncle Marco!” She waved. 

And then they left.

  
  


Christmas passed, and so did New Year’s. Eventually, Valentine’s Day came along, and I knew exactly what to do for Marco. At six o’clock, I packed a bag and brought it to Marco’s place.

“I’ll be back tomorrow, Wade,” I said as I opened the door.

“Gross.” He turns the page of his newspaper. 

I grunt and leave the house.

 

I set everything up. The roses, the candles, and the most important thing: the lingerie. The rose petals lead the way from the door all the way upstairs to Marco’s room. I was super excited. The lingerie was red and sexy, and I felt kind of odd wearing it. It was a good kind of odd. 

 

Thinking about what we could do got me turned on, and so did the lingerie. I was sitting on Marco’s bed with a boner. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I laid on my back and reached my hand into the underwear and the other to my chest. I started stroking my erection and pinched and rubbed my nipples. It made my toes curl. 

 

I rolled over into doggy-position and my fingers made their way to my hole. I pumped a finger in, moaning Marco’s name. 

“Shit,” I breathed out, adding in another finger still pinching and pulling my nipples. “Marco.” 

 

Just then, I felt a hand pull my fingers out, and a tongue slipped in. I gripped the sheets becoming a moaning mess. The tongue swirled around inside of me, and I groaned in pleasure. When the tongue pulled out, I turned my head around to see Marco with a serious face, different from his soft expressions that he normally wears. It made me throb. He noticed.

“We should take care of that, shouldn’t we?” He says.

I gulped.

 

I sat on Marco’s bed looking at his serious brown eyes. He climbs on the bed and tells me to continue.   
“What?” I say in disbelief.

“Continue. In front of me.”

I bit my bottom lip and continued to jerk off in front of Marco.

“Spread your legs wider.”

I do as told and open my legs for him to see better. 

 

I see that there’s a tent in his pants and stare at it, imagining his cock inside of me. I feel myself get harder at the thought and go faster, pulling my nipples harder.

“Marco,” I moan. “Touch me.” 

He then swallows hard and undoes his belt and pulls down his pants and boxers a bit. He then crawls over to me and lays me down gently, pressing his body against mine. 

 

Marco reaches down to press our erections together and starts to rub them. He was so warm and rock hard that I was about to cum. 

“M-Marco, I-I can’t,” I say, trying to hide my face in case I made a weird expression. 

 

With another hand, Marco grabbed my arm that covered my face and kissed me, rubbing faster. I made a muffled groan and felt myself about to release. He must have predicted it, because he stopped and pulled away from me. 

 

I looked up at him as he took off his shirt and threw it across the room sexily. He then went down and started licking my nipple, and then sucked at it.

“Marco,” I breathe out. “Put it inside.” 

“Okay,” he says, reaching over to the nightstand to pull out a small bottle of lube and a condom. 

 

Marco rips the wrapper open with his teeth and tells me to put it on him. I nod and slip it on his stiff shaft with shaky hands.

“Are you scared?” He asks huskily. 

“A little.”

He kissed my forehead. “It’s okay. I’ll make sure it feels good.”

I swallowed hard, nodding my head in response.

 

As I lay on my back, Marco squirts the lube onto his fingers, and then sticks both of them inside of me. It felt weird, but started to get better the faster he pumped his fingers in and out. I groaned as he continued to finger me, but then he stopped and I panted. I felt something press itself against my hole, and looked to see Marco’s tip positioned there.

 

Slowly, he pushed his cock in, and I felt a numbing pain coming from my insides. I gripped the sheets in pain as he pushed the rest in. 

“It...hurts!” I grit my teeth.

“Hey, hey,” Marco coos, leaning into me and kissing me. “You’re doing great.” 

 

Once I got used to the pain, I told Marco that he could start moving. He asked me if I was sure and I said that I was fine. Marco then slowly pulled it out halfway, then slammed back into me. I let out a moan and felt my walls tighten around him. 

“Jean,” Marco groaned as he continued to thrust. “You’re so tight.” 

I couldn’t say anything back because I was moaning too much. It just felt that good. 

 

He then grabbed my ankle and put it on his shoulder and continued to pound inside of me. “Harder,” I whined. 

The noise of us having sex made it way better. The squish sound of the lube, the slapping of our skin, and of course, the way Marco groaned my name sexily. 

 

Suddenly, he pulled out, and I looked up at him with yearning eyes wondering what he was doing. 

“Can you get on your knees?” He asked.

That’s what I did. I got in position for Marco and spread my hole open with my fingers. 

“Marco...fuck me.”

Instantly, he put it back in and thrusted fast. 

 

I gripped the sheets tightly moaning his name continuously as he rubbed my throbbing dick. The faster her went, the louder I got, and the more I felt it in my groin. 

“I’m gonna cum,” I whimper.

“M-Me too.”

“Cum inside me.”

“What?” 

“Please, just do it.”

Marco pulled out, took the condom off, and then rammed back inside of me making me climax, and so did he.

 

I collapsed on the bed breathing heavily as Marco panted. He laid next to me and stroked strands of hair behind my ear then kissed my forehead. I looked at him to see that he was smiling.

“What?” I asked. 

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I chuckled, and we kissed.

 

I took a shower first as Maro washed the sheets and picked up the flower petals. I was so exhausted I thought I was going to pass out until he came into the shower with me and hugged me from behind. 

“Thank you for the gift.” He kisses the back of my neck. 

I turned around and cupped his face in my hands. “I hope you enjoyed it.”

“Trust me, I did.” He smirked and raised a brow.

 

Marco lent me some clothes to sleep in. After we both got dressed, we climbed in bed together and cuddled. It was so comfortable that I almost fell asleep instantly until Marco spoke up.

“Jean?”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t wait to do this again with you.”

“Same here.” I laughed a bit.

“Goodnight.”   
“G’night.”

And then we fell asleep.

 

A while has passed since Valentine’s Day, and it was now Easter. We went to Connie’s house to go easter egg hunting because his backyard is huge. We all went. Ymir, Christa, Sasha, Armin, Eren, April, and Marco. All of Connie’s younger siblings had a blast, and so did I. April made me get in on the hunt with her. She claimed she wanted me to join so she can get more eggs.

“Is this really okay?” I asked Connie who hosted the party. 

“No one really minds.” He hands me an easter basket.

The hunt was on.

 

“Uncle Jean!” April shouts, pointing at a golden egg. “Look! Look!” She aggressively points more. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” I walk over to her. 

“Here.” She handed it out to me. 

“What? No. You found that all by yourself. You keep it.”   
“It probably has money in it,” she says, examining it. 

“You don’t want money? What kind of six year old are you?”

April shook the golden plastic egg, and I could hear rattling. It sounded like change.

“See? Pennies.” 

“Alright, I’ll take it off your hands.” I laugh as I take the egg from her. 

 

When we got done with the hunt, we all went inside and started to open the eggs. The girls got a bunch of candy like Reese’s and Hershey Kisses. 

“Who got the golden egg?” Connie asks, raising his voice so that everyone could hear. 

“I did,” I call as I lift the golden egg in the air. 

 

Everyone started clapping. What was so good about getting egg with pennies inside? Maybe it was just the color that made it so important. 

“You got it?” Marco asks sitting next to me. 

“Yeah.” 

“Open it. What’s inside?”

I scoff and start opening it. “Just some pen-”

I stop mid sentence when I see a golden ring inside. 

 

I stood up in shock, thinking that someone must have accidentally put their ring in. I look around to see everyone grinning at me and Marco suddenly stands up. He takes the ring from the egg and gets down on one knee in front of me. I stare blankly at him, tears welling up in my eyes. 

“Jean Kirschtein,” he says, his voice steady and a little low, “will you marry me?” 

Without a thought, I nod my head. 

 

Everyone started clapping and whistling and going “aww.” Marco slid the ring on my finger and then stood up to hug me tightly. I was a sobbing mess as I hugged him back, burying my face in his strong chest. 

“I love you so much,” Marco whispers in my ear, his voice shaking but loving. 

“I love you, too,” I sob. 

I’m engaged. I’m  _ engaged. _

 


	19. Chapter 19

I slowly opened my eyes to see Marco’s sleeping face next to mine, and I smile. I then look down and see our son, Levi, sleeping with us. He had a nightmare last night and came into our room to sleep with us. He usually tries to fight things off himself, so this must have been a really bad dream. Then I remembered. It’s his first day of preschool. He must have been nervous.

 

I stroke Levi’s hair, tucking some strands behind his ear thinking it was time for a haircut. I decided to do that before he goes to school. 

“Mm,” Marco hums as his eyes flutter open. “Good morning.”   
“Morning,” I say, putting a hand on his cheek and felt his stubble. “Time to shave?” 

“I guess so,” he says, putting his hand on mine and giving a small smile. “You seem to be in a good mood. Have a nice dream?”

“Yeah. It was about how you proposed.”

 

I suddenly hear a noise coming from Levi and look at him to see that he was stretching. He was so adorable. 

“You ready for school, kiddo?” I put a hand on his head, ruffling his hair. 

“Yeah,” he says, emotionless as ever. But I love that about him. He’s very mature for his age. 

“You gonna miss us?” Marco asks him.

He shrugs. I didn’t expect much anyway. Sometimes kids really  _ want _ to go to school.

 

In Levi’s room, I helped him pick out an outfit for the day. It was his first day. Gotta make a good impression.    
“Voltron or Spiderman?” I hold up two shirts.

“ _ Jean _ ,” Marco says my name sternly from the door frame. “It’s his first day of school. He should wear a button up.”

“Voltron,” Levi says pointing at the orange Voltron shirt. 

“Good choice.” I smirk, looking at Marco. 

 

After getting his clothes, socks and shoes on, we sit at the table eating breakfast together. Of course, Marco cooked the food. I tried once, but Levi wouldn’t let me. I asked him why and he just shook his head. This kid was going to be a genius. 

“I’m done.” Levi hopped off the chair and walked over to the sink to put it up on the counter. He had to use his tip-toes which I thought was really cute.  

 

I fasten Levi in his carseat as Marco started the car. Levi looks at me with an emotion I couldn’t read, as usual. It’s hard to tell what our son is thinking or feeling. Maybe he was excited? 

“You have his backpack?” Marco asks.

“Check.”

“Lunch pail?”   
“Check.”

“He’s all strapped in?”   
“Check.” I get in the front set and buckle seatbelt.

“You ready, Levi?” Marco turns around in the driver’s seat and looks at him with a smile. 

He hums in response, then we left.

 

Levi must have been excited, because he normally doesn’t like to go places. He tries his hardest to stay home and whines about it a lot. Even when we go to Connie and Sasha’s place to visit Hanji he still doesn’t want to go. Hanji is really friendly with him, but he just doesn’t like it. 

 

When we got to the school, I felt my heart break a little. My little man was going off to his first day of school, and he showed no signs of him going to miss us. I let out a sigh when we park. 

“You too, huh?” Marco smiles sadly at me.

“Yeah…”

 

We unbuckle Levi from his carseat and hold his hands as we walk to the classroom where we saw Connie and Sasha with Hanji. 

“Hey,” I say as we walk up to them.

When they turn around, Hanji gasps and hurries to Levi who hid behind Marco’s leg, leaving Hanji confused. 

“Can you believe this?” Sasha says, putting her hands on her hips. “They’re growing up way too fast. I feel like an old lady.”   
“Maybe because you  _ are _ an old lady,” Connie jokes, earning himself an elbow to the ribs. 

 

“We can hardly believe it ourselves,” Marco says, looking down at Levi. “He usually throws fits whenever he has to go somewhere, but he’s been calm all morning.”

“Hanji’s been hyped ever since yesterday.” Connie pats her head. 

“I believe it.” I chuckle.

 

Just then, the teacher announces that she was going to give us three more minutes to say our goodbyes until class starts. That’s when all of the parents bend down to their kids. Marco and I crouched down next to Levi. 

“Be good for the teacher, okay?” I say to him.

“Right,” Marco adds in, “and talk to the other kids. Make friends.”

“Okay.” Levi nods. 

Marco kisses him on the head. “We love you.”   
“Love you too.”

“Have a good day,” I tell him, and we both stand back up as Levi walks away from us.

 

We watch him as he goes inside the classroom, but he suddenly stops and his shoulders tremble. He slowly turned around with tears streaming down his red cheeks. I felt my heart throb. Levi then comes running back at us and I bent down to hug him. 

“Don’t leave me!” He cries. 

“We’ll be back, Levi, I promise,” I whisper in his ear. I pull away from him to look him in the eye. “Everything is going to be okay.”

 

Levi then looks up at Marco for assurance, and he nods his head. We gave him one last hug and a kiss and then Hanji comes over to grab his hand and walk with him inside the classroom. 

 

In the car on our way home, I started to tear up. Marco notices and chuckles. I shoot my head at him.   
“It’s not funny!” I sniffled. 

“I’m sorry,” he says. “You’re both so cute when you cry.”

“I’m gonna make you cry once we get home.”

“Does that mean…?”

“You know it.” I smirk, and Marco blushed. 

 

In our room, I pushed Marco onto the bed and start sucking his neck. He has his fingers tangled in my hair, and I stopped when I heard scratching at the door.

“Go away, Stormy!” I shout. 

“She’s not going to listen to you.” Marco laughed. 

“Maybe it’s a sign.” I get off of him and run my fingers through my hair. 

“Everything alright, Jean?”

“Just thinking about Levi.”

“He’s fine,” Marco assures me, putting a hand on my shoulder and kissing my cheek.

“You’re right. I just hope no one picks on him.”   
“Hanji won’t let that happen.” 

 

I remembered the time we took Levi to a park with Hanji. This other kid pushed him and stole his toy, but then Hanji stepped up and decked him in the face, making the little sucker cry. That’s how I knew that Levi and Hanji were going to be the best of friends.

 

Instead of doing the do, Marco and I fell asleep on the bed cuddling with each other. It took me a while to fall asleep, but once I did, I had a pleasant dream. I forgot what it was about when I woke up, but I knew it was nice. I looked at the clock to see that it was almost time to pick up Levi. 

 

I shook Marco until he woke up, and then panicked. He looked around, wide-eyed asking what time it was.

“Relax, hot stuff,” I tell him. “He’s still in school. But not for long, so we should get going.”

“Right,” he breathes out.

 

We got to the school a bit early, but so did some other parents. I noticed two guys holding hands and the muscular blond talking to his tall and dark haired husband. 

“Erwin is fine,” the blonde says. “He’s a little serious but I’m sure he did great.”

I looked at Marco, and he looked at me. We were probably thinking the same thing. Him and Levi probably didn’t get along very well.

 

After the bell rang, all of the kids came out with smiles on their faces, happy to see their families. I looked for Levi, and found him holding hands with another kid that wasn’t Hanji. It was a blond boy that seemed to be pretty tall for his age. Maybe he just looked tall compared to Levi who had tears in his eyes, but he wiped them away as soon as he caught sight of us.

 

“Erwin, what happened?” The couple from earlier bends down next to him. “Who is this?” They looked at our son.

“This is Levi,” the kid known as Erwin says, looking at Levi. “He was crying because he missed his parents so I…”

“You held his hand until he would stop, right?” The tall one smiles. I was guessing he did that often. 

“...yeah.” 

 

Marco and I stood there waiting for Levi to notice us, and when he did, he smiled wide. That was the widest smile I have ever seen on him. 

“Papa! Daddy!” He comes rushing to us, and Marco picks him up and carries him. 

“How was your first day, Levi?” I ask him.

“It was okay.”   
“He cried,” Erwin says from afar. 

Levi stuck his tongue out at him.

 

Erwin and his parents then walk over to us, and the closer they got, the taller the dark haired one got. 

“I’m glad there’s another same-sex couple here,” the blond was says. “I’m Reiner, and this is my husband Bertolt.”

“I’m Erwin.” Their son waves his hand. 

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Marco responds. “I’m Marco, this is my husband Jean and our son here is Levi.”

“Say hi, Levi,” I tell him, but he only hides his face in Marco’s shoulder.

“Sorry about him. He’s shy.” Marco puts a hand on his back.

“Don’t worry about it,” Bertolt says. “I’m just glad him and Erwin became friends.”   
“He’s not my friend,” Levi mumbles. 

“Yes we are.” Erwin holds onto Reiner’s hand. 

“Well we ought to get going,” I say. “Marco has work in a bit.”

“It was nice meeting you.”

We all shook hands, and Erwin waved goodbye at Levi who just stared at him blankly. He was probably embarrassed.

 

On our way home, I looked at Levi through the rearview mirror. He was sleeping from crying too much, and I looked at my husband. My true love. My happily ever after. We got married and got ourselves a child. I remembered meeting Marco for the first time. The way he said “I hope to see you again.” I’m glad we got to see each other again. I’m glad this is more than just a dream.


End file.
